The advent of new technologies in last mile deliveries is about to cause a disruption in the traditional business model applied in urban cargo transportation, thus presenting innumerous research opportunities in this field of knowledge. In this context, identifying new operation models and vehicles that could be applied for last mile deliveries in urban areas becomes crucial. Therefore, this paper aims to identify, through a systematic literature review, the main types of vehicles addressed in the literature that could be used in the last mile of urban freight distribution in order to increase the sustainability of this type of operation. The results indicate a trend for the implementation of smaller and lighter vehicles for last mile deliveries in urban areas: 47% of the studies suggest, among other alternatives, the use of bicycles and tricycles; while 53% of the articles support the use of light commercial vehicles. Another trend observed in this type of distribution, indicated in 64% of the studies, is the shift from conventional (fossil fuels) to alternative sources of energy (electricity).

The transport sector is responsible for several environmental impacts, including contributions to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions and depleting natural resources. A strategy to reduce these issues goes towards the application of a circular economy, a concept that offers a response to increasing concerns about resource scarcity and the associated impacts from their use. Thus, this paper aims to fill a gap in the literature that consists of the scarcity of studies that consider the circular economy application on a micro, meso, and macro level in road transport, including all stages as well as the 7 Rs of the reverse cycle. Therefore, an approach is presented to meet road transport needs, highlighting best practices obtained through a literature review, to promote climate change mitigation and resource depletion. Qualitative data were presented for each circular economy stage with 46 best practices identified, providing invaluable guidance to transport decision-makers. Thus, public policies focusing on all of the CE stages should be taken into consideration, not only those responsible for closing the cycle, such as waste and recycling or disposal and treatment.

The city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has established, by municipal law, a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions of the transport system by 20% until 2020 compared to 2005. In order to reach this goal, the city’s public transport has been restructured with an emphasis on rail transit systems. The city will host the 2016 Olympic Games and this has encouraged the transformation of public transportation. One of the new projects is the construction of a new metro line, Line 4, to connect the downtown area to the city’s fastest growing part, the western region, which will also be a venue for many events during the Olympic Games. This article presents and applies a procedure for calculating energy use and emissions avoided by Line 4 by attracting users from other transport modes in the period from 2016 to 2040. The procedure uses a detailed demand forecast for this period and considers the local transport profile and the different fuels used. The net amount of carbon dioxide avoided was 55,449 tonnes per year and 44.53 grams per passenger kilometer. The avoided energy reached 0.76 MJ per passenger kilometer.

Reaching the goal of the Paris Agreement will not be possible without a deep decarbonization of the passenger transport sector. In emerging economies experiencing rapid economic growth and social transformations, and large-scale development of urban areas and associated infrastructure, opportunities and challenges exist when considering a broader set of mitigation options. In this paper, we apply the Deep Decarbonization Pathways (DDP) approach to develop and report scenarios on the passenger transport sector in Brazil, India, Indonesia, and South Africa. This approach supports an increase in the sectoral ambition of covering all drivers of change in transport mobility and facilitating collective comparison and policy discussions on the barriers and enablers of transitions. The scenario analysis illustrates that all four countries can achieve reductions in emissions per passenger kilometres of 59% and up to 92% by 2050 while meeting growing mobility needs. Lastly, the analysis identifies short-term policy needed to address barriers and promote enablers. Key policy insights

The ever-increasing impacts of the last mile delivery sector on the environment and the quality of life of the urban population, such as increased congestion, demand best practices to be incorporated by companies to reduce impacts such as emission of air pollutants and Greenhouse Gases (GHG) and depletion of natural resources, among others. However, a myriad of strategies has been developed for this purpose but there is a lack of methodologies that allow the choice of the best ones for a specific case. Therefore, this study looks for those best practices to be employed through an innovative methodology that consists of SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), a map of strategies of the delivery service, and using the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), with the differential of considering the peculiarities of each company. The results applied in a Brazilian last mile delivery service company show that best practices such as route optimization, implementation of new infrastructure and business models for urban deliveries, and use of information systems for fleet tracking and monitoring contribute significantly to improving performance indicators and achieving the sector’s goal to become more sustainable, and especially meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 8, 9, 11, and 17.

Given the shifts in consumer demands, the business environment, and the various economic, competitive, and environmental challenges faced by transportation companies, sustainable logistics is gaining increasing recognition as a crucial aspect for consideration. With these factors in mind, this paper seeks to outline the optimal approaches embraced by transportation companies in Brazil, evaluate the extent to which these practices have been implemented, and propose a method for assisting the adoption of a course of implementation action that supports decision makers in the effort to choose the best practices aligned with the degree of maturity of sustainable practices adopted by the assessed companies. The outcomes of this study present a valuable blueprint for transporters, especially those in the initial phases of incorporating sustainable logistics practices, as they endeavor to conform to industry norms and enhance their overall sustainability.