Lessons from the Policy Implications of Green Logistics in Europe

유럽녹색물류의 정책적 시사점과 교훈

Purpose - As economic activities between different countries have rapidly spread in a world of free trade, it is inevitable that a large volume of cargo will be carried between countries. It is natural, then, that CO2 emissions and other environmental pollutions have followed, which exposes people and society to serious environmental problems and social costs, and so on. Therefore, the need to understand logistics is not only a matter of transportation but also an environmentally oriented matter. The purpose of this study is to look at some lessons and implications from the European case in terms of green logistics matters. Research design, data, and methodology - In order to look into this matter, first, it has to be established that some cargo transport volumes using different transportation modes have clearly declined because of previous economic recessions. Some transport policies produced by the European Union (EU) are based in a long history of struggling to cope with transport matters in European countries. In its recent transport policies, the EU has provided greener transportation alternatives, realizing that pollution matters affect the European transport market. This study tries to determine what policies the EU has implemented to deal with green logistics matters. This study concentrates in particular on the Marco Polo program in the EU. Results - This study found that the EU seems to consider these kinds of matters, that is, transport and the environment in the context of green logistics. The EU launched some policy instruments to solve this matter relatively earlier than other countries and reviewed them as necessary. In order to make these policy tools work, the EU provided PACT for combined transport, and then the Marco Polo I and II European transport white paper packages. These European policies deal with green logistics matters in two ways. First, some restrictions have been imposed, especially taxation, and so on. Transport subsidies are also powerful means of handling green logistics matters in Europe. Along with these two means of dealing with transport and the environment, the EU eventually targeted integration of different transport modes. Instead of employing only a single transport instrument mode to deliver the cargo to be carried, such as trucking, rail, ocean-going carrier, flight, or inland waterway transport, the EU has proposed that combining transport modes is the best alternative for transport and the environment. That is, the EU is pursuing the adoption of multimodalism as an answer to the green logistics challenge as it provides a more cost efficient and more productive means of transport. Conclusions - In conclusion, multimodal transport should be considered when applying green logistics, as it can provide an alternative way to achieve transport and environmental solutions together at the present time. Two methods can be used to encourage multimodal transport: restrictions and subsidies. These are the lessons and implications from European green logistics policies.