by Walther Ploos van Amstel
Europe’s transition to zero-emission trucks (ZETs) has reached a decisive phase. While EU CO₂ standards for heavy-duty vehicles are among the most ambitious globally, the pace of real-world deployment still lags what is needed to meet the 2030 target of roughly 35% zero-emission truck sales. The Smart Freight Centre report, with contributions from ACEA and …
The European Commission’s report, A practical methodology for implementing circular solutions, offers a concrete, operational framework for turning circular economy ambitions into implementable projects at the city and regional levels. Developed within the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI), the methodology directly addresses a recurring challenge in logistics and urban systems: while circular strategies are widely adopted …
Europe’s last-mile parcel delivery system is approaching a structural breaking point. Rapid growth in e-commerce, driven by platforms such as Amazon, Temu, and Shein, combined with the expansion of recommerce via players like Vinted and eBay, and return-intensive fashion flows from Zalando, H&M, and ZARA, is overwhelming traditional door-to-door delivery and parcel shop models. As …
The Dutch Labour Inspectorate is preparing its toughest intervention yet against Uber Eats, proposing to shut down the platform in the Amsterdam region for one month. The move follows years of enforcement actions and repeated findings that the company has failed to adequately prevent undocumented workers from operating as meal couriers. NRC reports about it. …
U.S. city logistics teams don’t need to wait for a perfect “European-style” Zero- or Low-Emission Zone authority to start decarbonizing urban freight. The key lesson from the Urban Freight Lab’s 2025 framework is that many Z/LEZ outcomes can be achieved with tools cities already control, if those tools are combined into a deliberate package and …
The recent study Logistics for Building Circular, Biobased, and Modular: Environmental Impacts in Amsterdam, published in the Journal of Circular Economy, examines the role of logistics in circular construction practices, with a specific focus on the urban context of Amsterdam. The article analyses how logistics systems influence the environmental performance of circular, biobased, and modular …
Cities are increasingly adopting zero-emission zones (ZEZs) as a core strategy to reduce local air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and road transport noise. While much of the policy and research attention has focused on passenger cars and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), there is growing interest in the role of light electric freight vehicles (LEFVs), including …
Cities are constantly in motion. New housing developments, new and redesigned streets, and growing logistics flows all require innovative solutions to keep the city traffic-safe, liveable, and sustainable. The Local Traffic Monitor, developed by Antea Group together with the municipalities of Rotterdam and The Hague and the Topsector Logistics, offers precisely that: an objective instrument …
Heavy-duty road transport is one of the most persistent sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing its climate impact is essential to meeting global decarbonisation targets. In their review in Nature, Zhang and colleagues evaluate the feasibility, economic viability, and emissions reduction potential of key clean pathways: chiefly battery electric trucks (BETs), fuel cell electric …
The study by Corvello et al. (2025) provides the most comprehensive attempt to date to integrate the fragmented research landscape on City Logistics 4.0 (CL4.0). By analysing 194 peer-reviewed papers, the authors propose a new conceptualization of CL4.0, synthesize technological, logistical, and sustainability perspectives, and outline a robust future research agenda. Four overarching conclusions emerge. …