Problem Statement
Over the last few decades, environmental sustainability in the transport and logistics sector has been researched widely. Businesses are now facing pressure from the government and consumers to minimize their emissions and use environmentally friendly products. Given the role of transport and logistics sector on climate change and global warming, green logistics was developed to solve the problem. Green logistics aims to coordinate efforts between stakeholders within the supply chain in a way that has the least impact on the environment. Green supply chain redesigns the transport system and logistics to eliminate inefficiencies. For instance, the packaging can be done using environmentally friendly material that can be recycled. Correct packaging reduces the transportation and storage needs, thus saving space and the adverse effects on the environment.
Studies show that transportation and logistics companies have direct, indirect and cumulative effects on the environment (Zinkeviciute et al., 2013). Direct effects include carbon monoxide emission, noise, and exhaust fumes while the indirect effects such as engine combustion are difficult to understand. The cumulative effects entail the additive and multiplicative consequences of transport and logistics on the environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the transport sector is responsible for 15% of the global carbon dioxide emissions (Chinda, & Ammarapala, 2016).
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Some companies have begun implementing green logistics and environmental sustainability measures. Businesses have made an effort to minimize the damage to the environment through carbon reduction, monitoring fuel consumption and by asking their suppliers to put in place green strategies (Mishra et al., 2012). Studies show that most large-scale companies with vast resources have pro-active environmental strategies in place, while most SMEs do not have environmental policies to guide transportation. The environmental effect of SMEs and other large companies that do not have environmental policies in place are being underestimated.
There is a lack consistency on what makes up green logistics and in the implementation of green logistics. The main problem identified by researchers is the lack of knowledge on what makes up green logistics. Some businesses are interested in implementing green logistics, but they do not know the necessary steps towards implementing green logistics and transportation. The current study aims to provide a green logistics and transportation framework for companies that have no idea what green logistics is made up of. The study will explore green logistic practices for different types of businesses, channels of transportation and supply chains. The study will also explore the effects of green logistics on the transportation sector. The study is valuable to all businesses with supply chains. It will equip businesses with strategies to implement green logistics or to improve on their green strategies.
Therefore, the problem statement for the study is “what are the green logistic practices that can be applied across the entire transport sector to achieve environmental goals in the future?”
Research Outline
Introduction
Background
Problem Statement
Purpose
Possible Contributions
Outline
Body
Literature Review
Drivers and barriers of environmental and sustainable initiatives
new solution(s) to the problem
Discussion & Conclusion
Summary of green logistic strategies
Future Direction
References
Chinda, T., & Ammarapala, V. (2016). Decision-making on reverse logistics in the construction industry. Songklanakarin Journal of Science & Technology , 38 (1).
Mishra, N., Kumar, V., & Chan, F. T. (2012). A multi-agent architecture for reverse logistics in a green supply chain. International Journal of Production Research , 50 (9), 2396-2406.
Zinkeviciute, V., Vasiliauskas, A. V., & Šimonytė, E. (2013). Implementation of the concept of green logistics referring to it applications for road freight transport enterprises. Business: theory and practice , 14 , 43.
