Freight News, Logistics


Green tech works but networks lag behind, says report

[ October 5, 2026   //   ]

The first edition of the Global Sustainable Logistics Survey (GSLS) has found that 83% of logistics professionals expect climate adaptation to force a fundamental redesign of networks, but only 45% consider current efforts adequate. It said that solutions that need heavy investment, public infrastructure or policy support, such as charging networks and rail transport, are lagging.

The report, published on 5 October by Kuehne Logistics University (KLU) and the Kuehne Climate Center (KCC), said that infrastructure could become the bottleneck of the coming decade if low-carbon vehicles and fuels scale faster than the charging networks and that they rely on.

The report is a voluntary contribution to the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026–2035), a global initiative to put sustainable transport at the centre of the international development agenda. Based on responses from 1,085 people, it is described as the first global study of sustainable logistics.

It found that sustainability solutions that require co-ordinated system-level interventions or public investments such as low-carbon fuels, fleet electrification, modal shift to rail and waterways and carbon pricing, are less widely adopted. They depend on sustained public-sector commitment and investment, together with coordinated action between policymakers and industry.

Technical skills are also considered to be in short supply in some regions.

Extreme heat ranks as the most urgent risk to assets and operations in every transport mode and every region surveyed.

CSLS lead investigator, Professor Dr Johannes Meuer, said: “Sustainable logistics solutions exist, but too few are making it from research and pilots into everyday practice. The 2026 GSLS Report shows what is happening on the ground and why, giving policymakers, companies, and educators the evidence to act. As the first edition of a series under the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport, it establishes a baseline against which we can track progress on making global logistics more sustainable.”

GSLS policy lead, Mark Major, added: “Even the findings from first edition show the urgency to identify system-level interventions and policies needed to tackle lagging adoption of effective solutions, skills shortages and the vulnerability of logistics due to climate change. We will contribute to this and deliver insights and recommendations that will inform debate, guide action, and help advance progress over the next decade.”

globalsustainablelogisticssurvey.org

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