With the rapid expansion of urban freight, metropolitan and peri-urban areas face mounting pressure to meet the demands of seamless, frequent deliveries. How can urban logistics adapt to this reality while promoting sustainability and efficiency? This session will explore the challenges cities, courier companies and other stakeholders encounter and showcase how innovative last-mile delivery solutions could address these issues. Examples will be given from the Sustainable Last-Mile Logistics Cluster, an initiative between three EU co-funded projects (DECARBOMILE, GREEN-LOG, URBANE), focusing on the take-up and upscale of innovative and sustainable last-mile delivery solutions at the European level. The discussion will highlight the need for cleaner, smarter, and more efficient last-mile delivery systems. Speakers will present real-world use cases, including electric delivery vehicles, cargo bikes, drones, droids, urban- and micro-consolidation centres and explore concepts and technologies such as Logistics-as-a-Service, multimodal delivery systems, dynamic re-routing, and optimisation tracking. The session will emphasise the importance of collaborative framework, co-design approaches, and the role of digital platforms, IoT, and smart logistics in optimising urban space, reducing empty miles and emissions, and enhancing city liveability. Examples from Living Labs across Europe will illustrate how these approaches adapt to local contexts, contributing to scalable, zero-emission logistics systems.

Organiser:

• Dariya Rublova, Netcompany-Intrasoft    

Moderator:

• Raffaele Vergnani, POLIS Network

Speakers: 

• Carmen Estevez, Red Bici    
• Panos Georgakis, University of Wolverhampton    
• Satu Reijonen, Forum Virium Helsinki