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Purpose of this paper: ‘Sustainability’ as a phenomenon is difficult to define and sense (Meadows,1998). Sustainable city logistics is a concept with many subjective interpretations by different actors in the urban freight transport ecosystem (Behrends et al., 2008). Developing useful metrics to measure sustainability performance and impact in city logistics is challenging as there are many uncertainties and multiple stakeholders’ interests to consider. Selecting the indicators is also a complicated task because of the numerous variables used in literature and the variety of KPIs reported by logistics companies in their sustainability reports. Extant research studies have proposed different frameworks and indicators to assess sustainability in city logistics. However, the quality, practicality and applicability of the indicator vary. This is due to the absence of a holistic approach that engages both public and private stakeholders who can define sustainability goals for city logistics and develop the sustainability indicators accordingly. This study captures the sustainability goals in city logistics with consideration of both public and private stakeholders and proposes indicators to measure the sustainability performance of city logistics activities. Design/methodology/approach: The Delphi method was used in this study. A heterogeneous Delphi expert panel was formed with 50 city logistics experts in Europe. The participants included academic experts, local authorities, and logistics service providers identified from city logistics-related research projects in Europe. Using two rounds of Delphi survey questionnaires, qualitative and quantitative data were collected. A niche form of the “policy Delphi” was also incorporated in the data analysis, not only for gauging the consensus but also for eliciting the diverse views among the panel experts (Rayens and Hahn, 2000). Findings: The definition of ‘sustainable city logistics’ and different sustainability goals perceived by public and private stakeholders were captured. A list of 42 provisional indicators developed based on literature, sustainability reports and experts’ nominations were evaluated in terms of their relevance to the sustainable goals. Value: By engaging 50 experts from 22 different cities as a novel data corpus, this study extends the empirical observations to explore the priority of different sustainability goals, and subsequently to assess the relevance of indicators for measuring these sustainable goals. Radical and heterogenous ideas identified among experts during the process help to gain a richer and more balanced picture of sustainable city logistics from a multi-stakeholder perspective. The proposed ‘Define-Design-Develop-Deploy’ indicator development stage model in line with the design thinking for sustainability development has brought a new disciplinary perspective into the logistics research. Research limitations/implications: Radical and innovative ideas identified among experts during the three-round Delphi surveys help to gain a holistic understanding of sustainable city logistics from a multi-stakeholder perspective. Practical implications: The proposed sustainable city logistics indicators were developed by engaging experts from different cities with different expertise backgrounds. These indicators offer policymakers and practitioners a list of prioritised metrics aligning with policy agenda or business objectives.

The increasing logistics and transport activities in the city significantly impact on the environment we live in. Providing green and sustainable logistics services is at the top of the logistics service provider’s agenda. Both academics and industry have shown increasing attention to measuring sustainability in logistics operations in the recent decade, yet LSPs' sustainability performance measurement methods and relevant indicators need to be assessed and updated particularly in the context of city logistics. This paper identifies and evaluates the current frameworks and indicators that reflect the performance of LSPs’ environmental sustainability using a systematic literature review. A total of 61 papers dating from 2010 - 2018 were selected and analysed in detail. A conceptual framework was proposed to assess environmental sustainability in city logistics.

The European Union has made a commitment to promoting sustainable mobility through advanced transport logistics. One of the principal areas yet to be addressed is that of the potential barriers to advanced transport logistics and the attitudes of industry to this advancement. This paper addresses some of these concerns and argues that competition for high-value contracts can be very tough, especially where the contracts are from large organisations that often prefer to develop a relationship with only one transport service provider. The paper attempts to put the research into a theoretical framework of Resource-Advantage Theory. Empirical evidence is presented from key informant interviews, semi-structured interviews and a focus group on the motives for and challenges of forming collaborative ventures. The paper argues that joining forces to form a road haulage consortium can allow small-to-medium operators compete against larger players by improving services to the customer through reduced delivery times and wider geographical coverage. Collaboration has potential benefits not only for freight transport service providers in terms of efficiency and utilisation, but also for the wider society through increased quality of life.

The Irish economy experienced a tremendous increase in economic growth during the 1990s and early 21st Century (Celtic Tiger). This economic boom was export driven and the Irish Road Haulage Industry transported the majority of products produced at some stage, if not a number of stages in the logistics tunnel. In recent times there has been somewhat of a growing unease in the road haulage industry in relation to increasing costs, squeezing already tight profit margins. A report commissioned by the Department of Public Enterprise illustrated that 48% of hauliers identified themselves as needing training in the area of cost calculation (Indecon, 1999). As a result, many hauliers are unable to accurately analyse costs; this can lead to incorrect management decisions in relation to pricing and rate setting, with the potential to significantly erode profitability levels. The Indecon report stated, “this is an area where there is very little information in the industry”(Indecon, 1999: 95). This research attempts to analyse current costing practices/models in the Irish Road Haulage Industry in order to improve understanding of the current capabilities of Hire and Reward operators in relation to financial management. The first step of the research methodology was an intensive search for pertinent literature, from which a limited amount of information was obtained. Primary research was undertaken through the use of a structured postal questionnaire. Empirical evidence of the current financial management capabilities of Irish road haulage hire and reward operators obtained from the research instrument is contrasted and compared with the 1998 EU Directive 98/76/EC stating the current minimum competency levels in order to gain a certificate of professional competency (OJEC, 1998).