Analyzing the environmental effects of the Parcel Locker System

A case study in The Netherlands

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Abstract

The escalating trends in e-commerce have led to a surge in parcel delivery demands, necessitating innovative solutions for efficient and environment friendly last-mile deliveries. Parcel Lockers (PLs) have emerged as a potential answer to address the environmental impact of traditional delivery methods. The core of PLs lies in a benefit trade-off between the customer and the Logistic Service Providers (LSPs), where PLs lead to reduced vehicle kilometers (VKT) by LSPs but result in inconvenience to customers by enforcing them to travel to PL locations. However, a research gap exists concerning the assessment of the environmental implications of PL
systems holistically which comprise the customers, the LSPs and the PL distributors. This master thesis aims to bridge this gap by conducting a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) of a PL system via the Environment Footprint (EF) methodology. Extensive literature research is undertaken to understand the various aspects and factors that affect the usage of the PLs, leading to the development of a conceptual model encompassing its key components. The EF method is applied to analyze the climate change impacts specifically in areas of De Pijp and Ten Boer respectively. The method considers relevant characteristics, such as customer
travel behavior and mode choice. The total environmental impact in the rural setup, where customers utilized cars to access the PL, is found to be the highest leading to 1028 g CO2 eq emissions per parcel produced. The urban setting has the least overall environmental impact, due to customers walking to the PLs which amounts to 42.46 g CO2 eq emissions per parcel. The PL system is also compared to conventional home deliveries (HDs) in this thesis which indicates that the PL system performs better environmentally, unless the mode choice by customers is cars. When considering only the transport emissions by LSPs in PLs and HDs, the PLs outperform HDs in both the scenarios. It is found that the PL systems reduce the emissions by upto 75% in urban setup and about 50% in rural setups which amount to about 36.3 g CO2 eq emissions per parcel. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to evaluate the potential impacts of future policy implications and developments regarding the environmental performance of the PL system. The results furnish valuable insights into the different scenario factors and system design factors, facilitating informed decision-making abilities for policymakers to promote eco-friendly last-mile delivery practices.