The Green Logistics Playbook

The logistics sector serves as a crucial catalyst for economic activity, fulfilling the requirements of businesses and consumers globally. The sector is projected to undergo exponential growth in this decade, from US$8.9 trillion in 2023 to US$18.2 trillion by 2030. While the logistics sector is essential for trade and supply chains, it’s also a major source of carbon emissions and air pollution. The sector is responsible for a tenth of global emissions, underscoring the need for adopting sustainable strategies to reduce emissions.

This urgency is particularly pronounced within the Group of Twenty (G20), which consists of the EU and 19 individual countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, and the United States). Collectively, the G20 nations are home to two-thirds of the world’s population and account for 85 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The G20 nations are also responsible for nearly 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, a significant portion of which comes from the logistics sector.

The Green Logistics Playbook provides an actionable toolkit for G20 leaders, offering concrete solutions and successful case studies on sustainable logistics practices across G20 nations that can address climate change, enhance livelihoods, improve public health, and foster economic growth. The solutions presented in the report are divided across four key strategies:

• Logistics operations: Driving robust innovation, research and development, and on-the-ground deployment of sustainable logistics measures.
• Policy drivers: Incentivizing the adoption of efficient logistics practices and conveying potent market signals to prioritize sustainability within the sector.
• Infrastructure development: Strategically planning and deploying a network of physical facilities for storing and transporting goods.
• Financial investments: Facilitating public–private partnerships to mobilize finance for infrastructure and projects geared toward sustainability.

The report outlines system-level changes that the G20, as a global collaborative forum, can achieve by partnering with the participating nations.