by Walther Ploos van Amstel
Today, it is difficult for consumers to make sense of the many labels on the environmental performance of products (goods and services) and companies. Some environmental claims are unreliable, and consumer trust is extremely low. Consumers can be misled, and companies can give a false impression of their environmental impacts or benefits – a practice …
The rise of e-commerce helped fuel consumer appetite for quick home deliveries. One consequence has been the placing of some logistics facilities in proximity to denser consumer markets. The trend departs from the prevailing discussion on “logistics sprawl,” or the proliferation of warehousing into the urban periphery. A recent study by Fried and Goodchild spatially …
Food e-commerce has long remained a limited phenomenon, which only changed noticeably during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only did more consumers take advantage of the options offered online, but it also prompted the launch of many food delivery start-ups worldwide. Quick commerce, in particular, offering grocery deliveries within twenty minutes or less, attracted significant sums …
Cities worldwide are rethinking their mobility policies in light of environmental and quality-of-life objectives. As space is one of cities’ scarcest resources, mobility’s spatial footprint is increasingly scrutinized as an externality to mitigate. Like passenger transport, goods transport will shift towards efficient and zero-emission mobilities. Proximity logistics The logistics sector requires space to unload, cross-dock, …
What if the neighbors came to deliver your parcels from now on? It was a hilarious idea from the Dutch TV program Koefnoen in 2016. Okko and Eus walk with their wagon through the neighborhood, delivering parcels. With all the car-free plans, there may be a future in community shipping as a sustainable option for …
Urban shopping malls depend not only on consumer mobility to operate and thrive but also on goods mobility. With the emergence of omnichannel retail, stores are now multifunctional hubs accommodating collection, delivery, and return of online purchases. As a consequence, goods transportation requirements for stores have intensified. This impacts the malls in which they are …
Out of 470 applications received, 86 promising start-ups were selected to participate in the seven Accelerators and Scale-up programs for EIT Urban Mobility, resulting in an 18% success rate for applicants. The high number of applications provides evidence of the rapid growth and immense potential of the urban mobility and transport sector. For the 2023 …
Promoting cycling as part of a forward-thinking, climate-neutral, and sustainable form of mobility is becoming a focal point for companies and municipalities in Germany and worldwide. The challenge is not only in changing mindsets but also in addressing the logistical requirements needed to implement a cycling-focused strategy. Delivery concepts with cargo bikes in freight transport …
Grocery delivery services have seen rapid growth in recent years. Is this a sustainable practice or a congestion generator and an environmental burden? Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University (USA) developed a method to estimate changes in travel patterns caused by grocery delivery adoption (a method to modify travel demand data to reflect changes in travel patterns …
The e-commerce sector aims to reduce CO₂ emissions by 2025 significantly and is working hard to achieve delivery with as few CO₂ emissions as possible. One way to contribute to lower CO₂ emissions from e-commerce is for web shops to encourage their customers to choose a sustainable delivery option. Involving consumers Small-scale experimental research into …