Green Transportation and Logistics Performance: An Improved Composite Index

Abstract

This article constructs an environmental logistics performance index (ELPI) for assessing the overall performance in green transportation and logistics practices of 112 countries. The index is measured by logistics performance index (LPI), CO2 emissions and oil consumption from the transport sector, using a range-adjusted measure (RAM) of the data envelopment analysis (DEA). ELPI effectively reflects the tradeoff between logistics efficiency and environmental protection in transportation. This article analyzes the impact of income and region on ELPI scores and discusses those countries’ reduction potential in oil consumption intensity and carbon intensity. The main finding of the research work is that ELPI is strongly correlated with LPI, and countries with high performance in LPI generally perform well in ELPI. Similar to the characteristics of LPI, ELPI is also closely related to income and region. During our study period, high income countries performed best, while Sub-Saharan Africa countries performed worst. However, some exceptions such as Venezuela, RB and Benin, indicate that the level of development of logistics performance and green transportation can outperform or lag behind their income or region group peers.