Sustainable Logistics (original) (raw)

Sustainable Logistics is the application of principles from sustainability to logistics, i.e., the functions of transportation, warehousing, and packaging. It is a part of Sustainable Supply Chain Management and includes the concepts of Green Logistics and City Logistics. Green Logistics is a logistical concept, which mainly deals with the environmental dimension of the Triple Bottom Line and aims at the alignment of the logistical functions with the targets of environmental sustainability, i.e., improvement of resource efficiency and reduction of emissions. In essence, Green Logistics combines the "six R's" of logistics with the targets of environmental sustainability concerning resource consumption and environmental friendliness. This means that the task of Green Logistics is to make the right quantity of the right product available at the right place and the right time in the right condition for the right cost ("six R's") while keeping resource consumption and emissions as low as possible (environmental sustainability). City Logistics is the improvement of the supply of urban areas with goods. This includes not only deliveries but also return logistics. In contrast to city planning, City Logistics mainly uses existing public infrastructure. Targets of city logistics are the relief of the strain on transport infrastructure (e.g., less traffic congestion, fewer accidents) and the reduction of emissions, particularly direct emissions such as noise, particulate matter, and nitric oxide.