Sustainable Practices in Logistics Systems: An Overview of Companies in Brazil

Vitor Martins,Walter Filho,Osvaldo L G Quelhas,Rosley Anholon

doi:10.3390/su11154140

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to present an overview of the applications of sustainable practices in logistic operations performed by Brazilian companies. To reach this objective, the following steps were carried out: (1) a review of the literature on logistics systems and sustainability in logistics activities; (2) the collection of sustainability reports published by companies that perform logistics operations, which are recognized in Brazil; (3) a content analysis of the reports collected and (4) a discussion of the results, cross-checked with the literature and the extrapolation of conclusions. It was possible to identify 22 sustainable practices, and these practices were grouped into five macro areas. The authors of this paper believe that the findings presented here can be useful for professionals and researchers in the implementation of sustainability practices in logistics systems.

Highlights

Since the publication of the 17 sustainable development goals proposed by the United Nations (UN) [1,2,3,4,5], sustainability has become an important aspect of business management
For the development of this research, the following steps were carried out: (1) review of the literature on logistics systems and sustainability in logistics activities, to create a theoretical basis; (2) collection of sustainability reports published by companies that perform logistic operations and that are recognized in Brazil; (3) content analysis of the reports collected following the recommendations presented by Elo and Kyngäs [58]; and (4) discussion of results with the literature and establishment of conclusions
It is important to emphasize that the five macro areas listed are found in logistic system components presented by Ballou [23]

Summary

Introduction

Since the publication of the 17 sustainable development goals proposed by the United Nations (UN) [1,2,3,4,5], sustainability has become an important aspect of business management. Liu et al [7] and Yun et al [8] argue that this new context of business management requires organizations to critically evaluate their activities in relation to environmental, social and economic aspects. Focusing on the industrial environment, Le et al [9] argues that sustainability has become an important factor in competitive advantage for companies. Björklund and Forslund [12,13] corroborate this point of view which reinforces the need to better understand the role of sustainability in the development of logistics activities. It can be seen in Brazil that the logistics sector has been evolving and consolidating rapidly in recent years to achieve a greater operational performance

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion