Research Question & Brief Overview:

Importance of the logistics industry has developed dramatically with the globalization of economies thereby raising the stakes of creating and implementing sustainable business practices across all actors within the logistics industry (Centobelli et al., 2017).  Many modes of transportation are still reliant on fossil fuels. As road transportation consistently is responsible for the majority of the transportation industry’s  emissions in the European Union, stakeholders have focused on methods and alternatives to decrease the amount of emission (Pieters et al., 2012). These methods and alternatives are known as Green Logistics Practices (GLPs) vary in technology, innovation and motivation thus providing varying results of carbon emission decrease. The purpose of this study is to summarize the research currently represented in published literature discussing green practice options in freight transport and logistics exploring the possible implementation of fossil-free fuels. With this background and current challenge, the researchers posed the following research questions: 

(RQ1) Which GLPs are used and suggested for designing more environmentally sustainable logistics systems? 

(RQ2) What challenges and opportunities lie in the use of fossil-free fuels for increasing the environmental sustainability of freight transport in a supply chain context?  

Method: 

This study contains two parts: systematic literature review and exploratory semi-structured interviews. The systematic literature review has been completed while the interviews are still ongoing. It is planned to present the study in its entirety at the National Transport Forum.   

To support the discussion and further understand the implications of large-scale use of fossil-free fuels, the specific choice of using biomethane was selected. Several exploratory, semi-structured interviews were held with stakeholders who either utilize biomethane in their operations or produce biomethane. The interview guide was developed following the analysis of the literature. The findings from these interviews enriched the discussion and supported importance relevant to opportunities and challenges from fossil-free fuels, in response to RQ2. 

As the paper is written in conjunction of a project with a particular focus on fossil-free fuels, namely biomethane, the categories were all discussed from the project’s focus. Biomethane was chosen as a focal alternative fuel due to its importance to Östergötland, where the research group resides. 

Results and Analysis:

As this is a work in progress, only the results and analysis for the literature review will be discussed in the abstract with the aim of presenting the entire study at the forum. 

The literature review provided patterns and trends in the sustainable innovations and technologies as well as their drivers and involved stakeholders. From these patterns and trends, the researchers were able to decern four groups of GLPs: Business Strategy, Logistics Systems, Social, and Energy & Emissions. Practices considered Business Strategy focus on an aspect or aspects in organizational practice or behavior which resulted in a greener business solution rather than desiring to create an environmentally friendly business solution. Logistics System GLPs simultaneously addresses improving an aspect of the logistical system and reducing environmental impact. The smallest, but still noteworthy category, Social GLPs are practices implemented by stakeholder typically outside the transport or logistics sphere that attempt to steer business practices towards a larger goal dictated by a governing body. The final group, Energy & Emissions, include practices that directly address the amount of carbon emission produced in transport activities. 

GLPs found in the Energy & Emissions are some of the more technologically advanced and innovative solutions. However, many of these Energy & Emissions GLPs have yet to be implemented on a wide scale. 

This research begins to explore the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for all stakeholders in support of creating greener freight transport and logistics. While the supporting discussions from the industry were rooted in the Swedish transport sector, there are possibilities to generalize organizational mindsets and actions to other geographical regions.