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We winkelen steeds meer en voor hogere bedragen online. Voor velen zijn webwinkels intussen een belangrijk alternatief voor de winkelstraat. Maar de vragen over de implicaties van het hele online winkelgebeuren op onze samenleving stapelen zich op. Is al dat verpakkingsmateriaal bijvoorbeeld echt nodig? Ontvang je binnenkort je pakketje van een robot of drone - en is dat waar we naartoe willen? Op al deze vragen bestaan geen sluitende antwoorden. De kennis over de 'laatste kilometer' die onze online aankopen afleggen, van distributiecentra naar consumenten thuis, staat echter niet stil. Op basis van wetenschappelijk onderzoek beschrijft Duurzaam online shoppen het leverproces van onze online aankopen, de evolutie ervan in het laatste decennium, en welke technologiegedreven innovaties ons te wachten staan. Sprekende initiatieven uit binnen- en buitenland tonen daarbij de concrete kansen om het leverproces te verduurzamen, zowel voor consumenten als voor retailers en logistieke bedrijven.

Depuis le début de la crise sanitaire liée à la pandémie de COVID-19, les magasins traditionnels ont souffert dans de nombreux secteurs alors que le e-commerce s'est considérablement popularisé. Conséquence : pour assurer la distribution des ventes en ligne, il a fallu inventer de nouveaux canaux de distribution. Au point de transformer la logistique urbaine.

Purpose: Given the economic inefficiencies and environmental damage characterising urban freight transport, many solutions have been proposed to increase sustainability. One interesting innovation is crowd logistics, which uses passengers’ spare carrying capacity on cars, bikes, buses and planes to carry out deliveries for other people (Mckinnon, 2015). Research Approach: Often, the challenge is to implement solutions that are also qualified from an economic point of view. However, as much of the thinking about the subject seems to be developing from the practitioner side (Carbone et al., 2015), the number of crowd logistics initiatives and variety of business models that are applied are growing. The true sustainability impact of crowd logistics remains unclear. In order to address this gap, we combined desk (systematic literature review) and field research (semi-structured interviews with practitioners). Findings and Originality: The paper provides a comprehensive definition of crowd logistics and offers an analysis of the concept in its variety of implementations. The research proves that sustainability implications of crowd logistics can differ greatly, depending on the characteristics of the concept. Research Impact: 18 influential characteristics are defined and linked to pillar(s) of sustainability they impact on. In this way, it is proven that faster and more flexible deliveries against reduced costs and environmental damage are possible. Nevertheless, concerns about utilitarian implementations that worsen society and environment are justified. Practical Impact: Furthermore, the research gives insightful information that supports practitioners in the implementation of crowd logistics initiatives. Future research includes the application of a selection of concepts in a pilot study.

Freight mobility represents to a growing extent a major challenge for cities in Europe. Several solutions have been proposed to make urban logistics more sustainable or more efficient but for local authorities it is often difficult to choose the right solution for their city. Therefore, in this paper an indicator evaluation framework is presented, comprising a set of multi-applicable indicators. The framework enables to apply the indicators individually – for appraisal, monitoring and evaluation –, aggregated into an index – for benchmarking – and as input for different evaluative methodologies. As the indicator set has a clear operational target, data-availabilities are investigated. In this way, a long-term shift towards sustainable urban logistics is envisioned.

The research proposed in this abstract aims to create an inclusive sustainability evaluation framework that is able to assess the impact of passenger and freight mobility on the urban quality of life. This impact is stressed, as mobility considerations are often excluded or simplified in general sustainability studies. Despite the growing attention for urban mobility, a performable framework to evaluate implemented policy measures is lacking. A solid data- and information base is generally not available, which results in an inadequate understanding of how travel behaviour and freight flows impact the city’s liveability. The research attempts to fill this gap by identifying a selected set of measurable and manageable indicators, that clearly mirrors the situation of urban mobility.