Sustainable logistics: a framework for green city logistics – examples of Polish cities

Background. The emission of hazardous substances has a significant impact on environment pollution and becomes a noticeable problem. Public transport, warehouse processes, and waste management are the main sources of pollution in cities. Ecology oriented solutions in the city’s logistics systems may lead to improve the quality of citizens’ life. The use of sustainable logistics may cause positive feedback on the surrounding environment. The interest of green logistics increases rapidly due to a growing amount of urban waste, energy consumption and greenhouse gases released to the atmosphere. The aim of this paper is to analyze the green logistics solutions and to consider their application in Polish cities. Method. The article is theoretical and is based on a literature review. The main research method is an analysis of green logistics solutions and possible ways to implement them in Polish cities. Results. Implementation of planned solutions in Polish cities could improve the shape of the natural environment together with a citizen’s life quality. Cooperation between local government, entrepreneurs and citizens is indispensable to achieve the expected results. A necessary (but not sufficient) condition for increasing the quality of life in the city is an implementation of green logistics solutions. The basic ones include the development of infrastructure for public transport and vehicles powered by alternative fuels (mainly electricity). It is important to implement sharing concepts based on vehicle sharing, as well as a participatory approach to city management, allowing each resident to feel jointly responsible for it. Nowadays, Polish cities invest money in renewable energy to power public transport vehicles. In addition, the number of charging stations for electric vehicles is increasing very quickly. This means we observe positive changes in people’s behavior about their environment.