We use cookies on this site, but we don't capture any personal information. View our privacy policy.

What happens if I decline cookies?

If you decline cookies, we will suppress

Google Analytics and any future third-party

cookies on this site, but please note that

the site also uses essential cookies as

permitted under the UK's Privacy and

Electronic Communications Regulations for

purposes such as remembering which

items you may have selected or opened as

you move from page to page.

To reject ALL cookies and continue to use

this site, please amend your browser

settings, but if you do, please be aware that

some parts of the site will not work as

intended.

For more information, see our

href='privacy_policy.html'>Privacy

policy page.

Accept cookies     Decline cookies      Reset     Close

Visit Alan McKinnon's LinkedIn page



Alan McKinnon – Professor of Logistics

Comparative analysis of the carbon footprints of conventional and online retailing: A “last mile” perspective

This paper compares the carbon intensity of personal shopping trips and van deliveries to the home. It focuses on the so-called “last mile” i.e. the last link in the supply chain to the home. Several last mile scenarios are constructed for the purchase of small, non‐food items, such as books, CDs, clothing, cameras and household items. Official government data, operational data from a large logistics service provider, face‐to‐face and telephone interviews with company managers and realistic assumptions derived from the literature form the basis of the calculations. Allowance has been made for home delivery failures, “browsing” trips to the shops and the return of unwanted goods. Overall, the research suggests that, while neither home delivery nor conventional shopping has an absolute CO2 advantage, on average, the home delivery operation is likely to generate less CO2 than the typical shopping trip. Nevertheless, CO2 emissions per item for intensive/infrequent shopping trips by bus could match online shopping/home delivery. 

The number of items purchased per shopping trip, the choice of travel mode and the willingness to combine shopping with other activities and to group purchases into as few shopping trips or online transactions as possible are shown to be critical factors. Online retailers and home delivery companies could also apply measures (e.g. maximising drop densities and increasing the use of electric vehicles) to enhance the CO2 efficiency of their logistical operations and gain a clearer environmental advantage. 

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/full/10.1108/09600031011018055


Click here to view all headings in current list.

© Professor Alan McKinnon 2024

Kuehne Logistics University
Hamburg
Germany

contactme@alanmckinnon.co.uk

Contact me

Privacy policy

Sitemap

Reset cookies

 Web design by Wordspree

 

© Professor Alan McKinnon 2024

 

Kuehne Logistics University
Hamburg
Germany

 

contactme@alanmckinnon.co.uk

 

Contact me

Privacy policy

 

Sitemap

Reset cookies

 
Web design by Wordspree