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  • Green Logistics: Improving the Environmental Sustainability of Logistics ed. by Alan McKinnon, Michael Browne, and Anthony Whiteing
  • CTL, Faculty Affiliate
Alan McKinnon, Michael Browne, and Anthony Whiteing (editors). Green Logistics: Improving the Environmental Sustainability of Logistics. London: Kogan Page, 2013. ISBN 978-0-7494-6625-1 (paper); ISBN 978-0-7494-6626-8 (ebook). US$60.00 (paper and ebook).

As businesses are increasingly pressured to adopt more sustainable practices, reducing the environmental footprint of logistics operations is one topic that gains ever-greater attention. For instance, freight transport, warehousing, and material handling activities have been estimated to account for roughly 10 percent of worldwide CO2 emissions (p. 4). However, making substantive reductions in logistics-related pollution will require more than changing out old warehouse light bulbs! Indeed, the area of green logistics is expansive and growing in scope and importance. Unfortunately, firms sometimes struggle to keep up with new sustainability-focused logistics standards and regulations, and developing and implementing cost-effective programs remains elusive. This book provides a broad survey of the topic of green logistics and investigates ways that firms can balance economic, environmental, and social objectives.

This edited compilation of 17 chapters includes contributions from 24 notable logistics scholars, and is divided into five parts. Part 1 is devoted to assessing environmental impact beginning with an introduction to the concept of environmental sustainability from the logistics perspective. It sets the stage for more in-depth analysis of external impacts of freight transport, carbon footprinting, and costing schemes for internalizing the environmental costs of logistics. Although some of the topics covered in this first part may go beyond the scope of logistics (e.g., instituting a carbon auditing process), the authors relate the relevance of each to [End Page 376] logistics and transportation. Ample case studies and examples based on the authors’ research help frame where and how logistics activities play a role in organization-wide sustainability initiatives.

Part 2 centers upon a strategic perspective of green logistics, including the topics of redesigning road freight networks to optimize green objectives and mitigate risks, transferring freight to greener modes, developing green transport vehicles, and reducing the environmental impact of warehousing. This part highlights what executives and logistics professionals need to consider now in order to ensure that their sustainability programs will progress in future decades. For instance, the authors note that the investment-cycle of aircraft used for freight transport can top 55 years, which includes design, manufacture, and lifespan of the aircraft (p. 159). Considerations include fuel efficiencies, carrying capacities, and network structures that must be projected far in advance and have long-term implications.

Turning to operational issues in part 3, one finds actions that firms can take in the near- and medium-term to enhance sustainability of logistics operations, including improved vehicle utilization and optimized vehicle routing for environmental impacts, as well as ways for improving highway fuel efficiency via vehicle design, maintenance, driver training, and other management activities, and the management of waste via reverse logistics practices.

The chapters in part 4 each address a current hot topic in green logistics. The debate over benefits and costs of using alternative fuels is discussed bringing to light current and future uses of alternative fuels, and whether or not their use is worthwhile and sustainable. The food-miles debate is discussed, which emphasizes a more holistic view than what is traditionally held (i.e., closer and seasonal food purchases must be better). Another chapter devoted to city logistics focuses on urban freight transport issues, including policy, public and private collaboration, and environmental zones. A final chapter on ebusiness and elogistics describes the role of the Internet and ecommerce on supply chain sustainability.

Part 5 is but a single chapter discussing government’s role in green logistics that integrates ideas from previous chapters to craft a “call to action” of sorts for overseeing and promoting green logistics.

At first blush, this book might appear to be focused more toward the logistics scholar than practitioner. Each chapter draws on a rich history of research, and most chapters highlight gaps in knowledge that leave the reader with a clearer understanding of current and future research needs. [End...

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