Sustainable Logistics

Logistics is essential to support the economic development of any region. However, logistics operations also create significant nuisances for society, like congestion, emissions, noise, etc. Within this book, a number of papers are collected that deal with ways to achieve more sustainable logistics. The editors selected papers presented at the 12th NECTAR International Meeting in the Azores, the 25th The Nordic Logistic Research Network (NOFOMA) in Gothenburg and the 13th World Conference on Transport Research (WCTR) in Rio de Janeiro, all held in 2013. The papers were then adapted into chapters fitting the purpose of this book. Sustainable logistics takes into account the economic, environmental and social dimension of the activity. The book is structured along the 4 A's of sustainable logistics: Awareness, Avoidance, Acting and shifting and Anticipation of new technologies. Within the Awareness part, papers deal with how we can make shippers, logistics service providers and governments more aware of the external effects the logistics activities have on society. The second A, Avoidance looks at ways to avoid unnecessary vehicle kilometres by improving the packaging or by bundling of freight flows. In the third A, Acting and shifting, several possibilities to shift to modes less harmful to the environment or distribute during the night hours are discussed. Finally, the fourth A, Anticipation of new technologies, discusses the possibilities of new technologies to improve the sustainability of the logistics chain.