Sharon Cullinane

Comparative analysis of the carbon footprints of conventional and online retailing: A “last mile” perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the carbon intensity of “last mile” deliveries (i.e. deliveries of goods from local depots to the home) and personal shopping trips.Design/methodology/approach – Several last mile scenarios are constructed for the purchase of small, non‐food items, such as books, CDs, clothing, cameras and household items. Official government data, operational data from a large logistics service provider, face‐to‐face and telephone interviews with company managers and realistic assumptions derived from the literature form the basis of the calculations. Allowance has been made for home delivery failures, “browsing” trips to the shops and the return of unwanted goods.Findings – Overall, the research suggests that, while neither home delivery nor conventional shopping has an absolute CO2 advantage, on average, the home delivery operation is likely to generate less CO2 than the typical shopping trip. Nevertheless, CO2 emissions per item for intensive/infrequent shopping trips...

From Bricks to Clicks: The Impact of Online Retailing on Transport and the Environment

Abstract Online retailing is growing fast and claims are being made about its positive environmental impact relative to traditional shopping, particularly by the retailers themselves. There is, however, little concrete evidence to support the claims. Whilst there exists some research into the passenger travel implications of e‐shopping, this paper seeks to analyse the issues involved in online shopping from both a passenger and freight transport perspective. The objectives of the paper are first, to set out the complex transport relationships involved in online shopping and in particular the interaction between the passenger and freight aspects and second, to shed some light on the environmental impact of online shopping. It concludes that as things currently stand, it cannot be stated with any degree of certainty that clicks are any more environmentally responsible than bricks. The paper is conceptual in nature and is the pre‐cursor to an empirical study of the issue.

Atmospheric Emissions from Shipping: The Need for Regulation and Approaches to Compliance

Shipping has traditionally been viewed as the least environmentally damaging mode of freight transport. Recent studies have increasingly questioned this perception, as attention has focused on both the greenhouse gas emissions (mainly CO2) and the emission of health-damaging pollutants (such as sulphur, nitrogen oxides and particulates) by ships. This paper reviews the available evidence on the atmospheric emissions of shipping. It proposes that the profit objective has prompted the pursuit of greater fuel efficiency within the sector, but that reliance on market forces alone is insufficient to deliver on the environmental imperative. The paper outlines the current and planned regulatory regime for the atmospheric emissions from ships and posits that greater, and more diverse, market regulation is required. Alternative general approaches to regulatory compliance are categorised as ‘alternative sources of energy’ or ‘abatement technologies’ and the characteristics of a range of specific options are analysed. The paper concludes that although the shipping industry has been slow to improve its environmental credentials, a combination of regulation and technological innovation provides it with significant potential to dramatically reduce its environmental impact.

Comparative carbon auditing of conventional and online retail supply chains: a review of methodological issues

Purpose – This paper seeks to examine the various stages in online and conventional retail supply chains in order to assess their relative environmental impacts. With reference to boundary issues, utilisation factors and carbon allocation, it seeks to highlight some of the difficulties in establishing a robust carbon auditing methodology.Design/methodology/approach – Auditing issues are considered from the point of divergence in the respective supply chains (downstream of this point a product is destined either for conventional or online retailing channels, and will receive different treatment accordingly).Findings – The paper explores methodological issues associated with carbon auditing conventional and online retail channels. Having highlighted the problems, it suggests resolutions to these issues.Research limitations/implications – The paper is mostly conceptual in nature.Practical implications – The approach outlined in this paper, once applied, allows the identification of inefficiencies in the resp...

ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE CAR IN THE U.K.: SOME IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICIES ON CONGESTION AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Traffic levels in the U.K. are forecast to increase by up to 142% over the next two decades, leading to increased problems of congestion and environmental deterioration. We appear to be reaching a near consensus that the way to deal with these problems is with limited road building accompanied by some form of transport demand restraint measures. The success of such measures depends on the level of dependence of the public on their cars, their attitudes to congestion and the environment and their outlook on the concept and the practicality of the measures. This paper addresses these issues using the results of a questionnaire survey of 2428 households in the U.K. It concludes that although most people recognise the problems caused by traffic, they are unwilling to do much about it voluntarily. Demand restraint measures that hit peoples purses directly appeared likely to meet with most success, but because of the level of attachment of many people to their cars, if real demand restraint is required, direct controls may be necessary.

The Reverse Logistics of Cross-Border e-Tailing in Europe: Developing a Research Agenda to Assess the Environmental Impacts

Thepurposeofthisarticleistodeveloparesearchagendatoanalyzethepotentialenvironmental implicationsofthereverselogisticsinvolvedintheB2Celementofcross-borderclothinge-tailing. Basedonacombinationofliteraturereviewandprimarycasestudydatafromfivemajorclothing retailersandtwologisticsserviceprovidersinSweden,acategorizationofcross-borderreversechain possibilitiesisdeveloped.Sevenreversechaintypesareidentifiedanditisshownthatallofthefive retailersusemultiplereversechaintypes.Theresultsaresubsequentlyusedtohighlightresearchgaps anddefineafutureresearchagendawhichwillenableamorecompleteenvironmentalanalysisofthe impactsofonlineclothesshoppingincorporatingboththeoutwardandreverseelements. KEywoRDS Cross-Border, Digital Single Market, DSM, E-Commerce, E-Tailing, EU, Returns, Reverse Logistics

A Hierarchical Taxonomy of Container Ports in China and the Implications for Their Development

Prompted by a phenomenal growth in trade over the last decade, China’s container ports have been increasing in both number and importance. Within the Asian market sector, container ports in the Chinese mainland now threaten to undermine the dominance of both Hong Kong and Singapore. This chapter describes the development of China’s container ports to this point in time and, by applying a classification system based on a hierarchy of ports, seeks to deduce likely scenarios for the sector’s future development.

A financial evaluation of the design concept for a ‘clean energy producing vessel’

The design concept for a ‘clean energy producing vessel’ proposes the exploitation of remote offshore gas reserves, primarily from stranded fields, using a floating electrical power generation plant. In comparison to conventional approaches utilising liquefied natural gas and pipeline technologies, the clean energy producing vessel represents a highly innovative approach to the production and transportation logistics of natural gas for electricity generation. The main objective of this article is to undertake a financial evaluation of the clean energy producing vessel design concept. This is achieved by developing a financial model comprising cost and revenue modular elements that reflect the major technical components of the design concept: the floating production, storage and offloading unit; the electrical generation plant; cable transmission; carbon capture and electricity prices. The results for net present value and internal rate of return are derived for all combinations of either high- or low-revenue scenarios and for high- or low-cost scenarios. With a rather low internal rate of return of just 15.53%, the only scenario that yields a positive outcome is that of the high-revenue and low-cost combination. Accounting for savings in carbon dioxide emissions exerts only a negligible impact upon the results. Analysis of future research required concludes that following its deployment and implementation, the feasibility of the clean energy producing vessel design concept depends on the outcomes of economic and technological assessments, which are difficult to predict with any degree of certainty.

Improving sustainability through digitalisation in reverse logistics

Suggested Citation: Cullinane, Sharon; Browne, Michael; Karlsson, Elisabeth; Wang, Yingli (2017) : Improving sustainability through digitalisation in reverse logistics, In: Jahn, Carlos Kersten, Wolfgang Ringle, Christian M. (Ed.): Digitalization in Maritime and Sustainable Logistics: City Logistics, Port Logistics and Sustainable Supply Chain Management in the Digital Age. Proceedings of the Hamburg International Conference of Logistics (HICL), Vol. 24, ISBN 978-3-7450-4332-7, epubli GmbH, Berlin, pp. 185-196, http://dx.doi.org/10.15480/882.1497 This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/209332

Improving the quality of Sweden’s rail freight rolling stock: The use of date envelopment analysis in benchmarking and pricing

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical conceptualization of how data envelopment analysis (DEA) can be applied to rail freight rolling stock in order to develop a tariff for track access charges which is functionally dependent upon the derived relative benchmark values of performance. Design/methodology/approach It is posited that track access charges should be differentiated to reflect differences in the performance of rolling stock and that this can be achieved purely on the basis of technical and other characteristics. The performance benchmarking of rolling stock is proposed as the basis for formulating and justifying a performance-based tariff structure. Using DEA, relative index measures of rolling stock performance can be derived, benchmark performance can be identified and a tariff structure can be developed. Findings A workable approach to implementing the concept, utilizing existing in-house databases, is found to be feasible and a template for tariff setting is established. Research limitations/implications In the absence of access to in-house technical data on rolling stock, which is commercially sensitive, no empirical application of the concept is possible. Originality/value There are many ways to improve the efficiency of a railway system. Many are inherently long term and involve significant investment. Using Sweden as an example, this paper proposes the more immediate, simpler and cheaper approach of incentivising the use of better rolling stock through appropriate track access charging. Such an approach should reduce the number of problems arising on the rail network and the costs imposed on other rail users, the infrastructure providers and society. Ultimately, the implementation of this approach would support the objective of increasing long-term robustness and reducing disruptions to railways.