Identification of Environmental Criteria for Selecting a Logistics Service Provider: A Step Forward towards Green Supply Chain Management

Green environmental performance increases the competitiveness of the supply chain. However, the greening of the supply chain depends on the manufacturer who drives the green initiative, as well as on all the members of the supply chain who take part in the process. The manufacturer's attention has been largely focused on the environmental performance of the supplier and retailer, whereas logistics service providers have been somehow neglected. It is, in fact, the case is that logistics service providers have begun to play a critical role in supply chain management and could therefore significantly improve environmental sustainability. They have already undertaken a green initiative that unfortunately has rarely, if at all, been required by the manufacturer. The lack of requirements for logistics providers hinders the progress of a green initiative. To take a step forward towards green supply chain management, this chapter aims to introduce all the necessary criteria for the selection of a logistics service provider (LP), with an emphasis on environmental criteria. The environmental selection criteria, with all related subcriteria, were achieved on the basis of a systematic literature review. It has been found that buyers of logistics services still strive to minimize costs, expect quality logistics services, a well-positioned LP, all the while overlooking environmental issues. The most frequently applied environmental selection criteria are value-added reverse logistics services, followed by environmental expenditures, pollutants released, energy consumption, clean materials and energy use. The findings presented here are useful particularly for researchers, as issues regarding sustainable LP selection and its limitations are highlighted, related to selection criteria identification. These findings may be of less use to managers. However, future phases of this study, richer for the evaluation of logistics experts, will be much more applicable to buyers and providers of logistics services.