Sustainable Logistics Systems

Aim

The general aim of the course is that the student should acquire knowledge about the role logistics plays for a sustainable development, environmentally, socially as well as economically. The course's focus lies on how environmental demands affect logistical systems, and the possibility to use logistics to positively affect the environment. After taking the course, the student should

• be able to reflect and argue about the important role logistics has for a sustainable development.
• be able to reflect on how increased environmental and sustainability demands may affect the future design of logistical systems.
• in a well motivated manner be able to estimate and calculate a logistical system's environmental effects, and to some extent also the social effects.
• be able to explain different actions for reducing the logistical system's environmental effects, and motivate and argue for the suitability of different actions in certain situations.
• be able to use tools for integration of environmental aspects (and to some extent also social aspects) when designing a logistical system.
• be able to describe central theories and frameworks within the field, critically analyse these and apply them in a way suited to the situation.
• be able to design economically profitable action plans for a sustainable adaptation of logistical systems.
• from a sustainability perspective be able to analyse logistical proposals and solutions; identify strengths, weaknesses and unclarities in them; and propose alternative solutions.

Content

An understanding for the state of the art is created by describing logistical trends, statistics etc from the transportation field, and show how the volatile society affects the logistics system and its sustainability. Different methods for changing the effects from transports and logistics are gone through, both concerning current needs for transportation, and by reducing the transport work with help from logistical solutions. Possibilities and problems connected to calculation of transports' environmental effects are treated.