Green Logistics: the study of environmental sustainability of road freight transportation from the point of view of Hungarian carriers.

Abstract

Environmental concerns are critical issues what modern society has to face. Sustainability and logistics are two quite controversial terms in nature since logistic companies' priority is cost-saving/profit-maximising, which often achieved at the expense of the environment. This research aims to analyse the factors in-

uencing the adoption of green initiatives in Hungarian logistics industry, having carriers in focus. The literature review identifies road transportation's major im- pacts on the environment and examines how green aspects can be integrated into companies' operation. A research framework was developed to outline in uential factors for adopting green logistics activities by transportation companies with a truck eet. A questionnaire survey was conducted in road freight transportation industry in Hungary in order to find out their position in Green Logistics. The purpose was to draw a comparison between the literature and data collected through a questionnaire with industry practitioners. The research found that there has been strong correlations between what the literature suggested and what companies do in practice. Not surprisingly, those activities which have major economic benefits have been singled out to be adopted. The study concluded that Hungarian companies somewhat adopt Green Lo- gistics activities but it is not an integral part of their business. Their main focus is profit maximisation and they embrace Green Logistics as an opportunity for cost savings. It confirms that company's raison d'etre is to reduce their costs and then comes the environment. It is recommended by the researcher to further examine this topic within the framework of longitudinal research in order to gain in-depth insight into companies' approach to Green Logistics in Hungary. Finally, this dissertation has significant limitations that should be acknowl- edged. The research adopted survey design and applied convenience sampling which may exclude a large proportion of the population. Due to in uences be- yond the control of the researcher, such as low response rate, the research has low external validity, that affects the inferences of causality and generalizability beyond the sample. In addition, some of the survey questions addressing green activities with economic implications, like reducing fuel consumption, therefore, it is inevitably difficult to validate the honest reason for engaging with those green offerings. Keywords{ Logistics; Green Logistics; Hungarian road freight transportation companies