Sustainable Development in GCC (Do Logistics Indicators Matter?)

Abstract

Objective: Although logistics practices could contribute a lot to countries’ economic and ecological factors, there is still a need to know which logistics practices could contribute to specific ecological domains. Previous studies in many cases have limited their investigation either to a specific environmental indicator, such as CO2, or to a specific region. This study opts to close the gaps of previous studies by investigating the impacts of logistics aspects on the environmental variables in Gulf countries and expanding the focus of the tested environmental domain to include energy consumption as an additional variable to CO2. Methods: The study adopted a panel data approach, which uses both cross-sectional and time series approaches together. The panel approach includes more data coverage, reduces the variables’ internal correlations, and provides a more efficient model with high freedom degrees. The logistics performance data has been derived from LPI, which was published by the World Bank in 2007. At the time of writing this paper, the index covers data from 2007 to 2023. Although LPI data are available from 2007 to 2023, the CO2 and energy consumption were only available until 2020. Results: The results indicated that different logistics indicators have different impacts on ecological issues. The results revealed that only infrastructure and customs logistics indicators have significant effects on CO2 emission and energy consumption in the GCC. Conclusions: This study recommends that decision-makers should consider the environmental consequences of engaging in logistics practices. Although the improvements in logistics indicators will lead to facilitating the movements of goods internally and externally, caution should be taken with regard to harm it may cause to the environment.