The Optimization of a Green Logistics Network: A Comparison Between Milano and Chicago

In recent years, the globalization phenomenon has contributed to the need of strengthening the connections between all the places in the world, and logistics has developed the E-Commerce channel in order to guarantee a high service level to its customers. However, according to the World Economic Forum, logistics produces about 5,5% of the global greenhouse gas emissions, hence in the long term it is not sustainable that this activity will always be carried out in the same way. The policies adopted by governments around the world with the aim of containing climate change, have led people and companies to reconsider the use of available resources and to introduce alternative solutions to the use of fossil fuels. It is in this context that the green transportation topic is making its way with the objective of reducing the carbon footprint caused by the movement of the products from one point to another. In particular, the targets established by the countries of the European Union impose that within 2035 the carbon dioxide emitted by the new vehicles sold by the car manufacturing companies will be equal to zero, so that it will be possible to reach climate neutrality by 2050. Therefore, the transition to zero-emissions electric vehicles will be obligatory. In order to incentivize delivery companies to convert their fleet into an electric one, this thesis has the objective of making a direct comparison between a traditional logistics network in which petrol vehicles are circulating and a network in which the transportation is performed by electric vehicles. In this way all the similarities and the differences between the two models will emerge, and the distribution companies will be able to make an informed decision.