Ep 281: Decarbonising urban logistics

Professor Alan McKinnon, Professor of Logistics, Kuehne Logistics University, Hamburg, joins me to discuss five strategies to decarbonise urban logistics: Rationalisation - Route optimisation Realistic solutions compared to ambitious longer-term options Switching to lower carbon transport modes Rail Cargo cycles Filling delivery vehicles better and reducing distance travelled Micro-hubs and consolidation centres Can intra-urban collaboration be replicated at an urban scale? Parcel lockers Physical internet - open systems and remodularisation of transport Improving energy efficiency of vehicles Impact of regulation Vehicles are becoming more efficient Driver training is one of the best ways to improve vehicle energy efficiency Delivering at different times of the day, improving fuel efficiency of vehicles Why we need to worry about energy efficiency even as we move to electric delivery vehicles Switching to alternative low carbon energy Batteries will be central to a low carbon future - more so than solutions such as hydrogen Factors constraining conversion of fleets to electric power Total cost of ownership – and how many miles do these EVs have to drive to make them better than ICE vehicles? Which vehicles should be prioritised for conversion from ICE to EVs? Carbon penalty associated with fast delivery and free returns Using price mechanisms to encourage sustainable practices