Abstract
Last-mile logistics is the final step of the logistics chain and is an important factor in customer satisfaction. However, it is also one of the biggest sources of carbon emissions in the logistics chain. Many companies have tried to switch from conventional fuel vehicles to electric vehicles to mitigate carbon emissions. While electric vehicles can mitigate carbon emissions from fuel, they cannot address all environmental issues associated with last-mile logistics. Problems such as inefficient routes, unsuccessful deliveries, traffic congestion, and low usage of vehicles are still sources of unnecessary carbon emissions.
This research paper explores the reasons why fuel switching is not enough to achieve low-carbon last-mile logistics. The paper relies on secondary data from other research papers and reports. A qualitative analysis is performed to explore the biggest problems and research gaps in the current state of the art.
The results indicate that carbon emissions are affected not only by the type of fuel used in vehicles but also by the design of the delivery system and customer behaviour. The paper concludes that system-level transformation, such as route optimisation, delivery consolidation, and different delivery points, is required for sustainable last-mile logistics.
Keywords: Last-mile logistics, carbon emissions, electric vehicles, delivery optimization, sustainability.
References
Buldeo Rai, H., Verlinde, S., & Macharis, C. (2019). Sustainable last-mile logistics.
McKinnon, A. (2018). Decarbonizing logistics.
Pourmohammadreza, M. et al. (2025). Review of last-mile logistics sustainability.
World Economic Forum (2020). Future of Last Mile Delivery.