Production and consumption depend heavily on logistical services within the making, distribution and disposal of goods. Logistical operations are integral parts of (global) value chains and production networks, a fact that recently became apparent again due to several disruptions to those logistical flows across space. Furthermore, the influence of large retailers running their own logistical operations draws attention to a shifting role of the logistical industry within networks of production and consumption as well as the power that logistical companies might exercise in locations where they physically operate with regards to (among others) land-use and labour. Additionally, the logistics industry has a huge environmental impact with regard to emissions and energy consumption e.g. from transportation, storing and data handling, as well as the vast land take for logistical infrastructure like freight distributions centres, container terminals etc.
The session welcomes contributions that assess the changing role of logistics with regard to environmental, economic and social sustainability and/or develop concepts and solutions both from an applied or theoretical perspective in order to discuss pathways for a more sustainable logistics industry from the multiple perspectives of economic geography.
Papers may examine topics including, but are not restricted to: