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Green Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Innovations for Sustainable Transport and Distribution

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026 | Viewed by 2397

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Ruozhen Qiu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Business Administration, Northeastern University, Shenyang, China
Interests: supply chain and logistics management; inventory optimization; platform operations management; omni-channel operations; robust optimization
Prof. Dr. Qingguo Bai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Management, Qufu Normal University, Rizhao, China
Interests: sustainable supply chain management; operations management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Jianhu Cai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Management, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, China
Interests: supply chain and logistics management; low-carbon supply chain

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

(1) Introduction, including scientific background and highlighting the importance of this research area.

The growing global emphasis on sustainable development has brought to the forefront the need to innovate within the logistics and supply chain sectors, especially in light of increasing environmental concerns. Green logistics plays a pivotal role in reducing the environmental footprint of transportation and distribution systems, while enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of supply chain operations. As industries seek to optimize their operations amidst growing regulatory pressures and evolving consumer expectations, the importance of integrating sustainability into logistics and supply chain management has never been clearer.

(2) Aim of the Special issue and how the subject relates to the journal scope.

Sustainability invites researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to contribute to a Special Issue focused on advancing the scientific understanding of green logistics and supply chain management. This Special Issue seeks to highlight recent innovations, theoretical developments, and practical applications that drive sustainable practices within transport, distribution, and the broader supply chain ecosystem. By examining logistics operations and supply chain management, this Issue aims to inform strategies that mitigate environmental impacts while ensuring supply chain efficiency and resilience.

There are many perspectives to consider when writing about green logistics and sustainable supply chain management. Many authors have analyzed the relationship between environmental variables and operational performance indicators, such as cost efficiency, lead time, and service levels. Others have focused on the processes that enable sustainable supply chain practices, including the role of technology, policy frameworks, and collaborative models. Additionally, some studies explore the transformation of specific logistics sectors, such as transportation or warehousing, and the development of tools and methodologies for reducing environmental impacts, such as green procurement and low-carbon technologies.

(3) Suggest themes.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

  • Innovations in green transportation systems and technologies for reducing carbon emissions.
  • Sustainable distribution practices, including low-carbon transport routes, eco-friendly packaging, and inventory management strategies.
  • Optimization of inventory control in the context of sustainability, focusing on waste reduction, resource efficiency, and improved supply chain performance.
  • Advanced network design methodologies that integrate sustainability goals into supply chain configuration and operations.
  • Circular economy approaches and their integration into logistics and supply chain management for minimizing waste and maximizing resource use.
  • Green procurement strategies and their role in fostering sustainable supply chains.
  • The impact of digital technologies (e.g., AI, IoT, blockchain) in enhancing transparency, traceability, and efficiency in green logistics.
  • Policy frameworks supporting sustainable practices in logistics and supply chain management, including carbon pricing, sustainability certifications, and green logistics regulations.
  • Supply chain resilience and the role of sustainable practices in enhancing supply chain robustness against disruptions.
  • Case studies on successful green logistics initiatives and the lessons learned from implementation in real-world settings.

We look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Prof. Dr. Ruozhen Qiu
Prof. Dr. Qingguo Bai
Prof. Dr. Jianhu Cai
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • green logistics
  • supply chain management
  • transportation
  • distribution system
  • sustainable development
  • environment
  • environmental impact reduction

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 841 KiB  
Article
Green Investment Strategies and Pricing Decisions in a Supply Chain Considering Blockchain Technology
by Songshi Shao, Yutong Li, Xu Cheng and Jinzhu Qu
Sustainability 2025, 17(14), 6491; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17146491 - 16 Jul 2025
Viewed by 267
Abstract
With rising environmental awareness, numerous firms are transitioning to green investment, such as low-carbon production. However, the consumer adoption of low-carbon products remains low due to transparency concerns. Many firms are leveraging blockchain to address information asymmetry in the supply chain, thereby building [...] Read more.
With rising environmental awareness, numerous firms are transitioning to green investment, such as low-carbon production. However, the consumer adoption of low-carbon products remains low due to transparency concerns. Many firms are leveraging blockchain to address information asymmetry in the supply chain, thereby building consumer confidence in low-carbon products. The purpose of this work is to provide decision support for business firms by analyzing the strategic choices regarding the manufacturer’s green investment and the e-retailer’s adoption of blockchain technology. Three strategy combinations are considered, including the baseline strategy combination without green investment and blockchain technology (NN), the strategy combination with only green investment (LN), and the strategy combination with both green investment and blockchain technology (LB). The optimal pricing and green level decisions are derived, and the conditions under which green investment and blockchain technology are beneficial to the supply chain members are examined. The findings suggest that the e-retailer can obtain the highest profit without adopting blockchain technology if it holds a substantial or extremely low market share, if the consumers’ low-carbon preference is at a low to medium level, or if the consumer green trust coefficient is high when the manufacturer implements the green investment strategy. When consumers exhibit a weak preference for low-carbon products, the strategy combination NN is optimal for the supply chain members. The strategy combination LB becomes optimal if the consumer green trust coefficient is near or below the moderate threshold, if the market share of a channel is neither extremely high nor low, or if consumers exhibit a strong preference for low-carbon products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Innovations for Sustainable Transport and Distribution)
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34 pages, 925 KiB  
Article
The Integration of Sustainable Standards in Production Planning and Control: A GRI-Based Framework Proposal
by Valentina De Simone, Paola Farina, Valeria Fasulo and Valentina Di Pasquale
Sustainability 2025, 17(14), 6446; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17146446 - 14 Jul 2025
Viewed by 364
Abstract
Sustainable manufacturing is gaining attention in the scientific literature. However, it remains unclear how to effectively incorporate it within Production Planning and Control (PPC) tasks. All the choices taken in terms of PPC impact sustainability, and sustainability managers and planners or managers involved [...] Read more.
Sustainable manufacturing is gaining attention in the scientific literature. However, it remains unclear how to effectively incorporate it within Production Planning and Control (PPC) tasks. All the choices taken in terms of PPC impact sustainability, and sustainability managers and planners or managers involved in tasks, such as scheduling or inventory management, are not conscious of what this means or implies, above all, in terms of the sustainable performance indicators on which their actions can act. While several studies have addressed both PPC and sustainability, there is still limited guidance or structured frameworks specifically aimed at systematically linking PPC tasks with sustainability indicators in a practical and operational industrial context, despite the development of numerous sustainability standards in recent years. For this reason, this research aimed to develop a first detailed framework, specifically based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard, that associates the most relevant indicators with the PPC phases, highlighting the type of impact (direct or indirect) of each phase on them. This could help with strategic decisions and promote more informed choices. The overall framework revealed the prevalence of environmental aspects involved in PPC phases (as expected) and a challenge related to the measurability of indicators (above all, the social ones). Furthermore, the Material Requirements Planning (MRP), identified as the most significant phase in terms of its impact on sustainability, was deeply analyzed, providing details related to the decision-making processes of this phase that affect sustainable performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Innovations for Sustainable Transport and Distribution)
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27 pages, 2692 KiB  
Article
Spatiotemporal Evolution Characteristics of Green Logistics Level: Evidence from 51 Countries
by Song Wang, Xiaowan Liu and Yige Liu
Sustainability 2025, 17(14), 6418; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17146418 - 14 Jul 2025
Viewed by 308
Abstract
With the current acceleration of climate change, there is a global demand for sustainable development and carbon emission reduction. As a major link in the global supply chain, the logistics industry’s green and low-carbon transformation has become a critical breakthrough in achieving the [...] Read more.
With the current acceleration of climate change, there is a global demand for sustainable development and carbon emission reduction. As a major link in the global supply chain, the logistics industry’s green and low-carbon transformation has become a critical breakthrough in achieving the objective of reducing carbon emissions. This study develops a multidimensional assessment index method for the green logistics level. The study selects 51 major economies worldwide from 2000 to 2022 as research subjects. The cloud model–entropy value–TOPSIS method is applied to measure the green logistics level. The results of the green logistics level are analyzed from the perspectives of developed and developing countries, and their spatiotemporal evolution characteristics are explored. The study shows that (1) the green logistics level in developed countries is relatively high, mainly due to policy-driven, core technology advantages. However, they continue to encounter issues, such as regional imbalance and excessive green costs. (2) The green logistics level in developing countries is in the middle to lower level, limited by technological dependence, outdated infrastructure, and so on. They are generally caught in a “high-carbon lock-in” situation. (3) From the perspective of time, the global level of green logistics shows a rising trend year by year. The peak of the kernel density curve of the green logistics level is characterized by an “I” shape. There is a significant disparity in each country’s green logistics level, although it is narrowing every year. (4) From the spatial perspective, the green logistics level in each country shows a rising trend year by year vertically, while the horizontal disparity between countries is enormous. The development of the green logistics level between continents is unbalanced. The study presents several recommendations, including boosting technology transfer, giving financial support, strengthening international cooperation, and developing green infrastructure, to promote the global logistics industry’s green and low-carbon transformation to accomplish sustainable development goals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Innovations for Sustainable Transport and Distribution)
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21 pages, 2424 KiB  
Article
Manufacturing Industrial Chain and Supply Chain Resilience in the Yangtze River Economic Belt: Evaluation and Enhancement Under Digitalization and Greening
by Peng Zhang, Shilong Bian and Sisi Ju
Sustainability 2025, 17(9), 3768; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17093768 - 22 Apr 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1053
Abstract
Considering the potential impacts of digitalization and greening in manufacturing on industrial chain and supply chain (ICSC) resilience, this paper develops a multidimensional evaluation index system. The system includes immune resistance, adaptive resilience, autonomous control, innovation competitiveness, and development sustainability. Using the entropy [...] Read more.
Considering the potential impacts of digitalization and greening in manufacturing on industrial chain and supply chain (ICSC) resilience, this paper develops a multidimensional evaluation index system. The system includes immune resistance, adaptive resilience, autonomous control, innovation competitiveness, and development sustainability. Using the entropy weight method, we measure manufacturing ICSC resilience across provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2017 to 2022 and further comprehensively analyze its spatiotemporal evolution and key influencing factors. The findings indicate that though the overall ICSC resilience in the region is relatively high, significant disparities exist between provinces and cities. The average resilience index value of the Yangtze River Delta region remained above 0.4, while that of other provinces was generally below 0.2. The spatial distribution of resilience shifted significantly during the study period, with marked improvements observed in all the regions. The number of high-value areas increased from three to nine, while only two areas had relatively lower values. Furthermore, the financing environment and the degree of digitization exhibited a strong positive correlation with resilience, whereas price fluctuations and excessive government intervention exerted adverse effects. Finally, this paper proposes corresponding policy recommendations to enhance ICSC resilience. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Innovations for Sustainable Transport and Distribution)
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