In the collective imagination, the logistics sector, particularly its intensive activities, is linked to the production of pollution and traffic.
Although recent technological developments have demonstrated that “green” logistics can be a successful project that is increasingly close to being realized, the diffusion of these innovations is still very immature.
The impact of the pandemic , as we have repeatedly analyzed, has brought to the fore the logistics machine and its operations, which until then had remained behind the scenes. Yet behind the movement of goods lies a whole world of structures, tools, and personnel, which generate "value" for the entire supply chain.
This is demonstrated by an interesting line of thought that has taken shape in Southern Europe, specifically in Spain, namely Sustainable Economic Reconstruction, a manifesto signed by big names in logistics with the aim of protecting the environment.
This is an awareness that was already conscious, but which was pushed by the dramatic situation recently experienced by the Iberian Peninsula in parallel with the rest of Europe.
According to the Manifesto, which was signed by Logista, a logistics player in southern Europe, and produced by a series of Spanish environmental organizations (Ecología y Desarrollo or Ecodes, Grupo Español para el Crecimiento Verde, and SEO/Birdlife) and the research institutions Real Instituto Elcano, Centro Vasco para el Cambio Climático, and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, COVID-19 leaves few alternatives for recovery.
We therefore need to rethink a more solid and prosperous model of society, but to do so we must focus on the values of sustainability and health, both environmental and personal.
The manifesto states that the Alliance's goal is to create a sustainable and long-lasting growth model to be applied to all EU countries, but particularly to Spain, given the nationalities of the actors involved.
The Iberian nation would in fact offer excellent conditions for implementing environmental strategies based on renewable energy, the potential of the territory, the industrial fabric and the energy transition.
All these conditions are also found in Italy, which remains behind other European countries in terms of renewable energy production.
This new "green" trend, in addition to undoubtedly increasing new developments in the energy and management fields, could produce positive short- and long-term effects on the perception of the logistics sector in the eyes of both industry operators and investors, increasing the value of infrastructure and providing a positive push for expansion.