Green Logistics: Transforming the Supply Chain for a Low-Carbon Future
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 October 2026 | Viewed by 4
Special Issue Editors
Interests: green and sustainable supply chain management; service operation management; e-business; air freight transportation management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: sustainable aviation fuel; aviation environmental protection
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The climate crisis demands urgent, transformative strategies to decarbonize global supply chains. Green logistics—integrating environmental sustainability into production, transportation, warehousing, packaging, and distribution—is pivotal to achieving a low-carbon economy. This Special Issue invites cutting-edge research on innovative models, technologies, and policies that advance green logistics across the supply chain lifecycle. We seek contributions that bridge theory and practice, offering measurable pathways toward net-zero emissions while balancing economic viability, social equity, and planetary boundaries.
Traditional logistics remains a dominant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, resource depletion, and ecological damage. Sustainable transformation requires systemic redesign: from sourcing low-impact materials and adopting clean energy in transport to implementing circular-economy principles in reverse logistics. Stakeholders—governments, businesses, and consumers—increasingly prioritize carbon transparency, ethical sourcing, and circularity. Yet, barriers persist, including cost trade-offs, technological gaps, and policy fragmentation. This Special Issue aims to address these challenges by showcasing scalable, data-driven solutions for green logistics in a resource-constrained world.
Potential topics for research include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Decarbonizing Transport:
Hydrogen/electric fleets, sustainable aviation fuels, and multimodal freight optimization.
AI-driven route planning for emission reduction.
2. Circular Logistics Systems:
Reusable packaging networks, reverse logistics for zero-waste cycles, and product-as-a-service (PaaS) models.
Blockchain-enabled traceability for materials recovery.
3. Policy and Economics:
Carbon pricing, extended producer responsibility (EPR), and green subsidies.
Cost-benefit analysis of low-carbon transitions in emerging economies.
4. Technology Integration:
IoT-enabled smart warehouses, AI for predictive logistics, and digital twins for emission tracking.
Industry 4.0 applications (e.g., automation, additive manufacturing) in green logistics.
5. Social and Operational Resilience:
Ethical labor practices in logistics hubs, just transition frameworks.
Risk mitigation for supply chain disruptions (e.g., pandemics, climate events).
6. Cross-Sector Innovations:
Case studies in high-impact sectors: e-commerce, automotive, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and textiles.
Behavioral insights into consumer willingness to pay for green delivery.
Prof. Dr. Lei Xu
Prof. Dr. Xiaojun Yang
Dr. Peng Du
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
- decarbonizing transport
- supply chain management
- circular logistics systems
- sustainable aviation fuels
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