Although the discussions on the sustainability of transport and logistics have been a focus of research in recent years, the impacts of the choice of cooling systems within cold chains have not received the same attention. This paper assesses the environmental and social implications of cold-chain vaccine distribution in the last mile, in terms of CO2 emissions from cooling systems and transport, as well as the external costs of transport. The last-mile vaccine distribution is modelled using a strategic approach to perform multi-scenario analyses. An application within the Flemish immunisation programme in Belgium compares the performance of active (ACS) and passive (PCS) cooling systems during last-mile vaccine distribution. The CO2 emissions results indicate that PCS are the most efficient for multi-stop distribution, while ACS emissions rise sharply with more stops along the route. An illustrative example explores the potential environmental benefits of using cargo bikes and PCS for deliveries in the densest regions. Regarding social impacts, the urban distribution of vaccines presents the highest effects on the external costs categories of accidents, air pollution, and congestion. The findings are relevant to cold-chain planning for logistics operators, as the efficient implementation of cooling systems can enhance all dimensions of sustainability.

Olive tree prunings (OTP), traditionally burned in the field and associated with pollutant emissions, represent a largely underutilised renewable resource in olive-growing regions. This study presents an integrated GIS-MILP methodology to quantify how supply chain design influences OTP mobilisation for plastics-sector intermediates in Andalusia (Spain). Unlike previous GIS-based studies, the approach enables a regional-scale comparison of centralised and decentralised logistics configurations, accounting for harvest, chipping, storage, natural drying, and transport. The results indicate that decentralised systems outperform centralised ones by reducing transport distances and better matching the fragmented spatial distribution of OTP. In the centralised scenario, mobilisation costs reach 143 t-1 with transport of fresh woodchips accounting for 60% of total mobilisation costs. The most cost-effective option for 1 refinery is the combination with 10 smaller storages, cutting cost to 124 & sdot;t-1 (-13%) by moving dried woodchips efficiently to the refinery. The analyses provide insights to guide the development of regionally targeted bioeconomy and circular-economy policies and strategies by identifying efficient, scalable logistics configurations for agricultural residue valorisation.

The study of traditional supply chains has evolved to incorporate reverse logistics into closed-loop supply chains in the pursuit of sustainability. The recovery of used materials at the consumer level involves first-mile logistics operations for collection and transport to sorting and recycling centres. In the case of post-consumer materials, multiple collection strategies with distinct challenges may be implemented, alongside the critical role of consumer participation, an aspect that has not been sufficiently modelled. This study proposes an assessment of three collection strategies for post-consumer textiles: collection via outdoor containers, door-to-door collection, and collection through local stores. In some of these strategies, consumer mobilisation to drop off textiles is a key component. Through a case study in Antwerp, Belgium, this research evaluates the costs, emissions, and external costs of transport, as well as the effects of consumer behaviour on modal share and drop-off frequency. The results indicate that collection via dedicated containers is the most economically, environmentally, and socially efficient option in total terms. Door-to-door collection is found to be the most costly and polluting strategy due to its transport intensity. In contrast, collection in local stores yields the best indicators per tonne of reusable textiles. This outcome highlights the strong influence of material quality on the overall performance of collection strategies. As a direction for future research, the analysis of consumer willingness to participate is proposed, in order to rebalance the performance assessment of more convenient strategies.

The rise of e-commerce has increased the demand for B2C transport, posing challenges for urban distribution and its upstream supply networks. Multiple sustainable transport strategies have been proposed to mitigate the effects of freight movement. However, sustainable transport strategies should address the economic, environmental, and social aspects equally. This study aims to evaluate a sustainable distribution strategy based on collaborative network design, integrating last-mile strategic modelling using the continuous multi-scale approach (CMA) with network design models. In the case study on parcel deliveries in Belgium, the collaborative network design strategy minimizes operational and external costs of transport, addressing economic, social and environmental aspects. The results show that, in a scenario where two shaded hubs are implemented, operational and external transport costs can be reduced by up to 20% compared to the current situation where all carriers operate individually. Similarly, carbon emissions are reduced by 25% in the same scenario.

Roadside grass clippings hold potential as a sustainable source of bioenergy as they do not compete with crops for land use, and are only partially utilized for low-value applications. In this study, we proposed using roadside grass as a sole feedstock for anaerobic digestion (AD) in three different settings, and assessed the potential of producing biomaterials and fertilizers from grass-based digestate. Wet continuous digestion at pilot scale and dry batch digestion at pilot and large scales resulted in biogas yields up to 700 Nm(3).t(-1) DOM with a methane content of 49-55 %. Despite promising results, wet AD had operational problems such as clogging and poor mixing; once upscaled, the dry digestion initially also presented an operational problem with acidification, which was overcome by the second trial. Digested grass fibers from the pilot dry AD were processed into biomaterials and performed similarly or better than the undigested fibers, while around 20 % performance reduction was observed when compared to reference wood fibers. A mass balance indicated reduced fiber recovery when higher biogas production was obtained. The liquid fraction from the pilot dry AD was characterized for its nutrient content and used as a biofertilizer in another study. In contrast, the leachate collected from the large-scale dry AD had a low nitrogen content and high chloride content that could hinder its further use. Finally, a regional market analysis was conducted showing that the biocomposites produced with the available grass fibers could substitute at least half of the current European market based on our results.

Supply chain management includes strategic, tactical, and operational decisions for long, medium, and short-term planning. Strategic decisions, such as network design, and operational decisions, such as last -mile routing, have mutual implications. Therefore, modelling them separately can lead to sub -optimal solutions. The integrated modelling of these decisions has been addressed as a location routing problem (LRP). This paper aims to identify the solution strategies and methods to solve the LRP, as well as related challenges and research opportunities based on a critical literature review. The findings reveal that 46% of the reviewed publications have adopted a multistage modelling approach to address the LRP, sequentially tackling strategic and operational decisions. Moreover, in addition to the challenge of modelling diverse decision levels, the LRP models need to incorporate variables such as time windows, delivery failure rates, demand density, etc. Five research opportunities are proposed: i) modelling the first and last mile with a strategic approach when making strategic network decisions, ii) integrating environmental and social objectives into the modelling framework, iii) applying the solution methods and algorithms to complex real -world cases, iv) exploring competitive and cooperative models in LRP, and v) evaluating the use of emerging technologies.

A future bio-based economy envisions the transformation of the petrochemical industry into using biomass such as wood (waste) as a major resource. The early-stage evaluation of a biorefinery project requires the optimization of the lay-out of the supply chain considering the spatio-temporal variability of the availability of feedstock and the techno-economical characteristics of the biorefinery process. Therefore, the presented methodology was developed combining three models: (1) a forest management and planning tool providing a detailed prediction on the wood resource availability as well as the harvested feedstock quantity and cost with respect to location and time, (2) a techno-economic assessment model of the biorefinery process (e.g., species-specific conditions, capacity, CAPEX, OPEX), and (3) a strategic supply chain optimization model combining the insights of (1) and (2) into a spatio-temporal explicit supply chain analysis. The developed methodology has been evaluated through a case-study on the emerging reductive catalytic fractionation (RCF) biorefining in the Flanders region (EU) and shows that the most economically interesting configuration is one large biorefinery with a yearly wood chip intake of 150 kton. The biorefinery location reflects the available feedstock distribution in Flanders and is suggested to be situated best in the most forested region. The proposed methodology proved to be dynamic and robust: (1) input data and technical calculations can easily be adapted or updated; (2) the methodology can be applied to a broad range of applications beyond the scope of the biorefinery, to different feedstock choices; (3) the impact of the biorefinery location on e.g. energy balance, CO2 emissions, and financial balance can be assessed.

Supply chain planning requires decision-making at all levels, especially in the new normal of intervened supply networks. The integration of strategic network design and operational routing decisions has been widely studied in the literature as the location-routing problem (LRP). However, the LRP does not consider the differences in the planning horizon of each sub-problem, nor have geospatial elements been included in the distribution of demand. This paper aims to redesign the conceptual modelling of the last mile to inform strategic network design problems. A continuous multi-scale approach (CMA) is proposed by taking elements from the districting problem (DP) and continuous approximation (CA). This approach includes stochastic demand in the analysis and the effects of time windows and failed deliveries. The validation of CMA in a case of rural parcel deliveries in Belgium shows an estimate of the distance travelled similar to traditional routing algorithms in scenarios with high demand density. Likewise, the effects of time windows on the spatial configuration of multi-scale districting are explored. This approach provides insights for decision-making in strategic and tactical planning, such as sonification, differentiated services to satisfy consumer preferences, and fleet management. The limitations of the CMA lie in its implementation in purely operational scenarios since it does not offer detailed routing information. Subsequent research aims to exploit the potential of strategic last-mile modelling with effective integration into network design problems.

Consumers are increasingly demanding high-quality food, which presents significant challenges for agricultural supply chains. While the majority of research in the agri-food sector has concentrated on optimizing logistics costs and meeting demand by focusing on minimizing the last mile, the complexity of the first mile in the agricultural supply chain has been less explored. Farmers must efficiently manage the harvesting process and the transportation of harvested produce to consolidation centers to ensure the delivery of high-quality products. This paper addresses this research gap by introducing a mixed-integer programming model that leverages vehicle routing problem concepts to optimize the logistics processes involved in transporting harvested products from various fields to a central depot. The primary objective is to minimize total logistics costs associated with visiting different fields during a pick-up round using multiple vehicles. The model has been applied to a case study involving an agricultural cooperative in Greece as part of the European BBTWINS project, which aims to enhance agri-food value chain digitalization for improved resource efficiency. The results demonstrate that organizing the first mile of the agri-food supply chain with a cooled vehicle for pick-up rounds can reduce logistics costs by up to 40% compared to the current practices.

In rural areas, parcel deliveries are characterized by a lack of drop density and high-mileage delivery. As a result, rural areas are difficult to make profitable for each individual carrier company. The VIL project “Rural Parcel Delivery” investigates the effect of 2 cooperation strategies: (1) Parcel delivery outsourced to a neutral third party from a common distribution hub and (2) Setting up a shared network of collection points between carriers. MooV has developed a model of the parcel delivery chain to assess the impact of these cooperation strategies on the efficiency of parcel deliveries as well as the location of the common hub. Given the obtained input data for the Walloon region, joint delivery in rural areas results in a reduction in costs (-35%) and CO2 emissions (-60%). Large differences exist between carriers based on the type of their delivery network and parcel volume.

Separate logistics of building materials to construction sites generate many truck movements, increased mileage and increased on-site storage costs and damage risks due to the ill planned deliveries. With the Construction Hubs-project the impact of a hub for centralising construction materials at the edge of the city is investigated.

Current biomass production and trade volumes for energy and new materials and bio‐chemicals are only a small fraction to achieve the bioenergy levels suggested by many global energy and climate change mitigation scenarios for 2050. However, comprehensive sustainability of large scale biomass production and trading has yet to be secured, and governance of developing biomass markets is a critical issue. Fundamental choices need to be made on how to develop sustainable biomass supply chains and govern sustainable international biomass markets. The aim of this paper is to provide a vision of how widespread trade and deployment of biomass for energy purposes can be integrated with the wider (bio)economy. It provides an overview of past and current trade flows of the main bioenergy products, and discusses the most important drivers and barriers for bioenergy in general, and more specifically the further development of bioenergy trade over the coming years. It discusses the role of bioenergy as part of the bioeconomy and other potential roles; and how it can help to achieve the sustainable development goals. The paper concludes that it is critical to demonstrate innovative and integrated value chains for biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower that can respond with agility to market factors while providing economic, environmental, and societal benefits to international trade and market. Furthermore, flexible biogenic carbon supply nets based on broad feedstock portfolios and multiple energy and material utilization pathways will reduce risks for involved stakeholder and foster the market entry and uptake of various densified biogenic carbon carriers. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Cascading, or cascade use, is concept that has many different definitions, but a common theme is a sequential use of resources for different purposes. The cascading concept was first presented in the early 1990s but has become an intensively debated topic primarily in the most recent decade. In the available literature on cascading of wood, there are few studies that discuss policy implementation. As this is currently heavily debated, there is an important gap here that we aim to fill. In this paper, we (a) critically review the conceptual history of cascading and (b) highlight the complexities involved in its implementation in policy frameworks. Originally, cascading was discussed as a broad framework for how society better should manage natural resource flows. In more recent debates on woody biomass however, cascading is often presented as simply a hierarchy, wherein material use of wood should hold priority over energy use of wood. This is partly based on an idea that certain forms of wood utilization are inherently more valuable than others, an assumption that becomes problematic when implemented in policy. In reality, how and for what a certain wood resource is used varies with time and place and historical examples of implementation of hierarchical policy frameworks indicate a high risk of unwanted consequences, such as unstable policy structures and tendencies toward a negotiation economy. Cascading of woody biomass can have benefits from both an economical and environmental perspective. However, cascading systems should emerge bottom‐up, not be imposed top‐down through politically determined hierarchies. WIREs Energy Environ 2018, 7:e279. doi: 10.1002/wene.279 This article is categorized under: Energy and Climate > Economics and Policy Energy Policy and Planning > Economics and Policy

The implementation of the European bioeconomy occurs under the impulse of entrepreneurs (ranging from carbon-based industries to farmers and foresters) and political authorities, assisted by knowledge workers (R& D). The drivers are (1) the search for alternative resources for fossil fuels, (2) the response to climate warming by becoming as CO2 neutral as possible and (3) the industrial demand for new functionalities offered by biobased materials and chemicals. Regions can be encouraged to apply new development strategies. Regions can also be guided to find ways to support, encourage and enhance concrete actions towards the bioeconomy by current and potential entrepreneurs within a bioeconomy. The BERST project intends to capture the specific characteristics of the bioeconomy within a particular region that are critical for its development as a bioregion. All regions are potentially 'bioregions', and therefore the BERST project provides tools (sets of criteria, catalogues both of instruments and measures as well as of good practices and case studies, and guidelines for elaborating regional profiles to prepare for smart specialisation strategies) to help regions in their trajectory of bioeconomic development. The project innovativeness lies within the triangular interdependency of the abovementioned tools leading to regional profiles. Criteria will be correlated against instruments/measures and will be validated with good practices. At the same time the instruments/measures will be referenced with good practices. The aim of this project is to take into account the bioeconomy potential and strategies of a range of different regions in Europe, and therefore to gain understanding of the possibilities and challenges related to the enhancement of biobased economies. The project's key objectives are the following : (1) facilitate the understanding of bioeconomy potential (biomass availability, bio-refining capacity, bioeconomy-related market accessibility), (2) help decision makers decide on their region's bioeconomy potential and its utilisation, as well as (3) help regional authorities and stakeholders choose and apply suitable instruments and measures to enhance positive development in the bioeconomy sector, e.g. in encouraging establishment of new companies and investments. The project also provides a support network in order to promote the development of smart specialisation strategies based on regional bioeconomic potential. The results and outcomes of this project will be linked to each region's "normal" planning and strategic development processes, and therefore to give additional tools for the regions to enhance their bioeconomies. This also means to promote stakeholder relations within bioregions, so that entrepreneurs can guide regional priorities in the development of the bioeconomy. The outcome of the project - with both a toolkit and an operating bioregional network - is intended to be taken over by the nascent EU Bioeconomy Observatory.

Biomass as a renewable energy source has many advantages and is therefore recognized as one of the main renewable energy sources to be deployed in order to attain the target of 20% renewable energy use of final energy consumption by 2020 in Europe. In this paper the concept of a biomass Energy Conversion Park (ECP) is introduced. A biomass ECP can be defined as a synergetic, multi-dimensional biomass conversion site with a highly integrated set of conversion technologies in which a multitude of regionally available biomass (residue) sources are converted into energy and materials. A techno-economic assessment is performed on a case study in the Netherlands to illustrate the concept and to comparatively assess the highly integrated system with two mono-dimensional models. The three evaluated models consist of (1) digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, (2) co-digestion of manure and co-substrates, and (3) integration. From a socio-economic point of view it can be concluded that it is economically and energetically more interesting to invest in the integrated model than in two separate models. The integration is economically feasible and environmental benefits can be realized. For example, the integrated model allows the implementation of a co-digester. Unmanaged manure would otherwise represent a constant pollution risk. However, from an investor's standpoint one should firstly invest in the municipal solid waste digester since the net present value (NPV) of this mono-dimensional model is higher than that of the multi-dimensional model. A sensitivity analysis is performed to identify the most influencing parameters. Our results are of interest for companies involved in the conversion of biomass. The conclusions are useful for policy makers when deciding on policy instruments concerning manure processing or biogas production. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.