The Influence of Green Innovation in Logistics Competitiveness and Sustainability. The DHL Case Study

The purpose of this paper is to investigate, according to emergent green perspective and technologies, the recent challenges in making logistics sustainable. The main green supply chain management practices are investigated in order to demonstrate their real and potential influence on economic performance and corporate competitiveness. To reach this aim, a brief literature review on green logistic (Tsoulfas and Pappis, 2006; Carter and Rogers, 2008; Dey et al., 2011; Garbara et al., 2014), green innovation and technologies (Van Bommel, 2011; Seuring, 2013; Brandenburg et al., 2014; Fabbe-Costes et al., 2014) has been carried out. Consequently, the DHL case study has contributed to better understand the influence of green innovation and technologies on SCM, and corporate results in terms of costs’ saving, competitiveness, and social integration. The case study analysis has been conducted according to a specific conceptual model (Rao and Holt, 2005), which allows a deeper understanding of literature review results. The study offers valuable insights for managers and practitioners in dealing with the sustainability and competitiveness of SCM. However, the paper is limited by the analysis of a single case study.