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| 19.11.2024

Focusing only on emissions makes sustainability a performance rather than the best solution

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As urbanisation and e-commerce reshape our world, Last-Mile Delivery (LMD) has become a critical link in the supply chain and a pivotal sustainability challenge. New research suggests that managers, city leaders, and researchers who focus solely on emissions should rather develop strategies that balance environmental, social, and economic goals and promote collaboration across individual, organisational, and systemic levels.

Cities and urban areas are facing many challenges caused by the increased number of last-mile deliveries. Challenges include increased traffic, strains of urban infrastructure, increased emissions, and traffic hazards. In her doctoral dissertation Helleke Heikkinen highlights the need to rethink delivery practices and think about more than just emissions.

“Many managers approach sustainability in last-mile delivery by concentrating solely on emissions, often overlooking social impacts right on local streets. Responsibility for sustainable practices is frequently seen as an issue for others to handle”, Heikkinen points out.

In e-grocery, sustainability efforts are often superficial, focusing on customer-facing aspects like packaging. Additionally, venture capital and major platforms drive the demand for rapid delivery, creating a challenge for smaller retailers.

“My research highlights how easy it is for sustainability to become performative. I mean that companies focus so much on what they think their customers want, that they perform sustainability rather than investigate the best and most sustainable solution for their deliveries,” says Heikkinen.

In her research, Heikkinen emphasises how it is not possible to choose one side of a contradictory situation, but how the opposing demands present in all sustainability questions need to be acknowledged. According to her, otherwise we will end up in a situation where problems re-emerge.

“This research offers insights for city leaders, businesses, and consumers to foster more sustainable cities — one delivery at a time”, Helleke Heikkinen concludes.

You can read the whole thesis online:
Last but not least: a paradoxical sustainability exploration in last mile delivery and city logistics

Helleke Heikkinen will defend her thesis on 22 November at 12:00 at Hanken School of Economics, Arkadiankatu 22, Helsinki.
You can participate in the defense on-site or via videoconference. You can join the videoconference via the link:

Helleke Heikkinen disputation 22.11.2024