Sustainable transportation strategies for decoupling road vehicle transport and carbon dioxide emissions

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify research priorities to guide transportation stakeholders in their practice, education, and research. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review of published, conference proceedings, agency reports, books, and web site documents was conducted, aiming at the identification of the diverging strategies and practices undertaken by transportation stakeholders in order to be able to generate initial meaningful insights about a sustainable transportation system. Findings – Sustainable transportation systems are in certain way a new paradigm where a business-as-usual approach is not possible. Vehicle makers produce more energy efficient vehicles. Nevertheless, fossil fuel is still the predominant source of energy. Regarding the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, non-motorized transport modes are preferable over motorized transport modes, and public transportation modes preferable to private transportation modes. It is also import to include environmental consideration along the design, construction, maintenance, and operation of the transportation infrastructure. While vehicles powered by alternate fuel such as biofuel, electricity, and/or fuel cell are becoming more popular, shifting to more sustainable transport modes would also require changes on commuter behaviors and individual preferences. Practical implications – The paper discusses the efforts that are underway for decoupling transport and CO2 emissions, being useful for transportation stakeholders to implement or improve the effectiveness of their potential or current sustainability transport initiatives through the identification of strategies, opportunities, and barriers. Originality/value – Although there is plenty of good information about sustainability and transportation modes in literature, most of the articles analyzed focus on specific factors of the whole transportation system. The originality/value of this paper is found in the holistic perspective, here presented, of the state of the art issues that a sustainable transport system would encompass.

The relationship between downstream environmental logistics practices and performance

“…Logistics activities, involving the movement and storage of goods throughout the process account for up to 75% of the carbon emissions generated throughout the supply chain (Dey et al, 2011). In particular, logistics practices relating to transportation and distribution conducted downstream in the supply chain, are the source of the highest levels of carbon emissions in some companies and thus warrant further research attention (Goldsby and Stank, 2000;Tang et al, 2015;Velazquez et al, 2015). A number of studies highlight environmentally responsible logistics practices as important within operations and supply chain management research (Wu and Dunn, 1995;Goldsby and Stank, 2000;Gonzalez-Benito and Gonzalez-Benito, 2006;Mejias et al, 2016).…”

An Integrated Approach for Modeling Sustainability Risks in Freight Transportation Systems

“…It is corroborated by the fact that many Indian cities have been ranked most polluted in the world and about 154,000 people died in India in 2005 due to traffic‐related air pollution (NTDPC, ). Furthermore, transportation accounts for about 20,000 accident fatalities and 100,000 premature deaths annually due to the air pollution in the European Union (ERTRAC, ).To curb these sustainability risks, immediate actions such as using alternative fuels, vehicle consolidation, carbon footprint optimization, participation in emission reduction initiatives, increased utilization of railways and inter‐modal transportation should be implemented (Gan, ; Giannakis & Papadopoulos, ; SteadieSeifi et al., ; Velazquez et al., ). Exponentially increasing vehicles on the road coupled with poor infrastructure lead to R13, which hugely affect the sustainability of FT and cause driver stress.…”

“…In India, 30–50% of truck‐loads return empty due to regional haulers leading to R4 (Avendus, ). An intelligent transportation system facilitates real‐time information sharing and integration of transportation vehicles, which may reduce the prospects of R4 and R9 (Gan, ; SteadieSeifi et al., ; Velazquez et al., ). In one of the cases, use of ICT reduced the empty running (R4) by 12% resulting in CO 2 reductions by 1.4 million kg in a year (Wang et al., ).…”

“…Furthermore, Velazquez et al. () claim that CO 2 emissions may increase by an additional 109% by 2050 if FT continues to escalate at the current rate. To curb these unsustainable consequences, organizations are stepping beyond the conventional economic focus and adopting the triple bottom line (TBL) framework of sustainability for building sustainable freight transportation systems (SFTSs).…”

Where Does Technology Fit in the Geospatial Design and Planning Professions?

“…The U.S. has an extremely high dependence on automobiles for everyday transportation (Balsas, 2001). However, technology based on vehicles alone will not create more sustainable transportation (Hillman, 2012;Velazquez et al, 2015). More environmental advocacy within a smart cities framework ought to be taken into consideration by those with responsibility for public policy and territorial administration (Evans-Cowley and Manta Conroy, 2006).…”