Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Industrial Systems: Modelling the Environmental Impact of Logistics Facilities

In the last decade industrial systems have been affected by increased challenges, and among those the need for more sustainable production and logistics has been called into question by both practitioners and academia. Within industrial networks, logistics facilities traditionally represent key nodes as they have a direct impact on both companies’ service levels and logistics costs. Recently, their complexity has dramatically increased due to their ever-demanding requirements and pressures from stakeholders and society. In this context, companies have started to search for solutions for greener warehousing processes and energy efficiency improvements. Still, on the academic side, a limited number of studies have been found addressing the quantification of logistics facilities’ environmental performance, the impact of the green warehousing practices in place, and the related effects on warehouse consumption and emission reduction. This paper aims to address this research gap by proposing a simulation-based approach where multiple scenarios of a real logistics facility are discussed, grounded on a conceptual framework that offers a roadmap towards sustainable and energy-efficient warehousing. Different scenarios are outlined, and the related performances are examined in terms of energy consumption and CO2eq emissions. Implications of the results are discussed and streams for future investigation are identified.