AbstractsTransportation

Freight emissions in the global supply chain are one of the fastest-growing sources of pollution that lead to various environmental problems including climate change. As leadership from governments alone is proving not to be sufficient, Green Freight Supply Chain Leadership (GFSC leadership), where shippers and Logistics Services Providers (LSPs) lead their transport suppliers in reducing transport related emissions, is a feasible alternative for reducing global emissions. However, no research has yet been conducted on this alternative leading to missed opportunities to effectively combat climate change. Therefore, a case study was conducted to make a model that depicts how shippers and LSPs, as the leaders, can use their customer power to lead their transport suppliers, as followers, in reducing transport related emissions. The case study focused on: (1) how the shippers/LSPs that are currently considered leaders in reducing freight emissions exercise their leadership, (2) how this leadership can be improved and (3) how other shippers/LSPs can effectively lead their transport suppliers. Most notable conclusions are that the current leaders argue that a GFSC leader should lead stakeholders within and outside the supply chain that can (in)directly contribute to freight emissions reduction; that the current leaders lack the bigger picture and that this often leads to less effective strategies being implemented; a GFSC leadership model that can support a shippers/LSPs to reduce freight emissions by providing an overview of the different actions they can take and their consequences. The study can be improved in several areas, most notably further research on how to lead other stakeholders than transport suppliers and including the perspective of transport suppliers to the current model.