Explore the possibilities for sustainable urban distribution

That's how you do it

Freight transport is an inseparable part of our society. However, freight traffic has negative environmental effects: a truck, for example, emits about 7 _times more NOx than a passenger car. In order to improve the traffic liveability in cores, it is therefore important to ban through freight traffic from the cores, to bundle freight flows so that the number of transport movements decreases and environmentally friendly transport modes and technologies are stimulated.
The guide to efficient and sustainable urban distribution in Flanders lists 15 ways to make urban distribution more sustainable. Depending on the speed of implementation and available budget, a combination of measures can be chosen. It concerns the following measures that are specified in the signpost:

• Addressing the ' last mile ' problem
• Design of the public space
• Loading and unloading zones
• Window times
• Day edge distribution
• Environmentally friendly vehicles
• Bicycle couriers
• Water transport and opportunities in the context of urban distribution
• Privilege approach
• Bundling concepts
• Urban distribution center
• Intelligent transport systems
• Low Emission Zones
• Construction logistics
• Sustainable waste logistics

Flanders wants to encourage emission-free distribution, so that from 2025 onward, deliveries will be made without emissions in the city centres. An action plan has been drawn up for this, which was approved by the Flemish Government on 16 July 2021. An attempt will be made to conclude a framework agreement with at least all central cities. All other local authorities can also take the same commitment. Cities always decide for themselves whether they want to work towards emission-free urban distribution. In order to facilitate the introduction of emission-free urban distribution by local authorities, a regulation is being drawn up parallel to the elaboration of the framework.
On 2 April 2019, the 4 then Flemish ministers (competent for Mobility, Environment, Work, Economy and Innovation and Energy), 8 initiators, including the Mobility and Environment departments and 29 participants, signed the Flemish Green Deal Sustainable Urban Logistics. Through the Green Deal, the signatories committed themselves to promoting the efficient and emission-free supply of cities through their own action. These actions can provide inspiration to local authorities.

Knowing more

There are 2 aspects you can work on in making urban distribution more sustainable, namely reducing the number of vehicle movements and making the vehicles used greener. Ideally, both aspects should be used. If this does not yet have the desired result on air quality, it is also possible to focus on an optimal spread of freight transport over time.

More information

• Signpost for efficient and sustainable urban distribution in Flanders (Department of Work and Social Economy, Flanders)
• Smart city distribution (BD Logistics, Flanders)
• Note on the approved method for introducing emission-free urban distribution (Flanders)
• Grean Deal "Sustainable urban logistics" (Department of Environment, Flanders)