Sustainable Logistics programme

The objective of the Sustainable Logistics programme by NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research) is to develop, share and apply new knowledge that is necessary for the vitality of the Dutch logistics sector in the medium to long term. The Sustainable Logistics programme is interdisciplinary in nature and is aimed at cooperation with non-university partners, such as businesses, governments, civil society organisations and public research institutes (e.g. TNO).

As many goods flow in, from, to and via the Netherlands it is not only essential for the Dutch economy to sustain a continuous supply chain flow, but also for other countries in Europe (and beyond). Investing in supply chain resilience promises to be a robust solution for dealing with uncertainties because resilience creates an adaptive capability that allows organizations to deal with possible fluctuations, developments and changes in the future. Furthermore, from a social point of view, a resilient supply chain not only supports security, including privacy and disruption of data streams, but may also assure cost savings, and reduce the environmental impact a disruption may have, while sustaining employment during times of crises. Hence, our contribution dovetails with the Top Sector’s objective to make logistics activities in the Netherlands sustainable by considering trade-offs that have to be made between efficiency and resilience.