A Bibliometric Review of Sustainable Supply Chain Management: Green Logistics

The biggest change among the 374 papers does not lie merely in the number of publications but in the wider range of research areas. In the past the studies had concentrated on a smaller number of topics, whereas more recent research is increasingly linking sustainability with optimisation, digital technologies, electric vehicles, organisational performance and sustainability. By 2026 two main trends can be seen. The first deals with practical matters such as routing, fleet selection and emission reduction, while the second is concerned with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain. The main academic value of this review lies in the fact that it gives an up-to-date account of this area of study. Although Tetteh et al. (2024) had previously shown that green logistics is a major field of research, their search came to an end in 2024. By incorporating more recent literature it is now possible to follow the further development of the field. The results indicate that the existing sustainability themes have not been abandoned; on the contrary, they are becoming more closely combined with specialised research into optimisation and digital technologies. A significant research gap still exists. Although technical research is progressing quickly, especially in the fields of optimisation, artificial intelligence, and routing, work is also being carried out on organisational behaviour and consumer responses as well as on policy. Nevertheless, these different areas are not always adequately linked. It is possible for an optimisation model to show that a given solution is technically efficient, but this does not mean that firms will be able to put it into practice, what consumers might do in response, or how regulation might affect it. Research in the future should therefore take a more careful look at both technical and behavioural aspects. The results also have important consequences for managers since the various aspects relating to routes, vehicles, charging arrangements and service levels are interconnected and a change in one part of the logistics network can have an effect on the other parts (Comi & Idone, 2026; Mamaghani & Battaia, 2026a). Sustainability can therefore be more effectively achieved when environmental factors are included in the current planning processes together with cost, capacity and service rather than being considered only as a matter for reporting. The literature also shows that simply improving algorithms does not always result in better logistics decisions; reliable data, accurate forecasting and strong organisational capabilities are still necessary. In practice, a simpler approach backed by reliable data can be more useful than a complicated system which a company is unable to implement effectively. This is especially important in view of the growing use of AI and other advanced technologies in logistics. People are also becoming more important as home delivery and the possibility of returning goods online bring logistical decisions nearer to the point when consumers make their choices. Recent studies have increasingly linked green logistics with business and supply-chain performance indicators (Emon & Khan, 2026; Nguyen-Huynh-Thanh & Nhu-Mai, 2026). There is thus a dilemma since the quickest or most convenient method of delivery might not be the one that causes the least pollution. Green logistics therefore goes beyond internal operational decisions and has to take into account customer and stakeholder expectations. The issues involved in policy are just as complicated. Research concerning the ASEAN economies has linked logistics and green logistics performance to export activities while at the same time pointing out the problems that arise when trading partners have different environmental standards. Environmental regulation can thus have an impact on both sustainability results and on a company's competitiveness in trade. Sustainability disclosure is also becoming more formally incorporated into the EU's framework, with changes anticipated in 2026, an indication of the efforts being made to balance the value of environmental information against the costs of producing it (Anagnostopoulou, 2025). This situation is pertinent to logistics companies since the reporting requirements can affect their environmental actions and investment decisions. Other limitations should also be taken into account. The first of these is that the search was carried out on ScienceDirect and as a result publications relevant to this database have not been included. The second point is that even though the same inclusion criteria were used at every stage of the screening process, the decisions regarding the titles and abstracts were not independently checked by a second reviewer.   Another limitation relates to bibliometric mapping, since different authors often use different terms to describe similar concepts. For instance, 'Green supply chain management' and 'GSCM' might refer to the same concept but are shown as distinct keywords. A number of adjustments to the search and export processes were also necessary in order to obtain metadata that was sufficiently complete. Although these limitations do not necessarily diminish the value of the findings, they do affect their generalisability. For this reason, the analysis should be seen as an approximation of the green logistics scholarship identified by the search employed, rather than as a full representation of the entire field.

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