Zero-emission e-commerce and freight delivery and return choices by retailers, consumers and local authorities

Call updates

Sep 19, 2023 12:08:00 PM

The call for proposals HORIZON-CL5-2023-D6-01 closed on 05/09/2023. 133 proposals were submitted to the call. The breakdown per topic is:

HORIZON-CL5-2023-D6-01-06 (RIA): 29 proposal

May 5, 2023 4:07:07 PM

The submission session is now available for: HORIZON-CL5-2023-D6-01-06(HORIZON-RIA)

Zero-emission e-commerce and freight delivery and return choices by retailers, consumers and local authorities

TOPIC ID: HORIZON-CL5-2023-D6-01-06

Programme: Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON)
Call: Safe, Resilient Transport and Smart Mobility services for passengers and goods (HORIZON-CL5-2023-D6-01)
Type of action: HORIZON-RIA HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions
Type of MGA: HORIZON Action Grant Budget-Based [HORIZON-AG]
Deadline model: single-stage
Planned opening date: 04 May 2023
Deadline date: 05 September 2023 17:00:00 Brussels time

ExpectedOutcome:
Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:

Better understanding of customers’ willingness and motivations to choose more sustainable delivery and return options, possibly including also social sustainability (e.g. adequate working conditions for drivers/delivery personnel).
Retailers and logistics operators support relevant processes by providing information on the implications of delivery solutions.
Consumers are aware and committed in using delivery and return strategies to reduce emissions and traffic congestion.
Information on environmental footprint of deliveries and returns are provided transparently and in an understandable way by the retailers (in collaboration with logistics operators and transport system providers) to consumers.
A wider range of zero-emission delivery and return options and related incentive schemes (at least comparable to the existing ones e.g. in terms of price and convenience) are co-designed with customers and proposed by retailers, incentivised by customers’ growing demand for greener choices and cities’ regulations.
At least 50% of the delivery and return options/processes adopted by the retailers and logistics operators involved in the action and available to their customers are zero-emissions.
Better understanding of local authorities’ ability to influence greener choices of delivery and return options by consumers.
Recommendations proposed to local authorities and the EU on the impact of relevant policy levers and possible regulations to influence greener choices of delivery and return options.
Scope:
To support changing retailers and customers’ behaviours towards zero-emission freight delivery and return choices, the research actions will have to develop co-created actions able to increase transparency and consumers’ awareness of greenhouse gas emissions and other impacts (considering also socio-economic ones) of e-commerce, deliveries and returns. They will have also to propose zero-emission delivery solutions and develop supporting incentive schemes to encourage customers to make sustainable choices, still in accordance with their preferences and in combination with competitive and sustainable retail value propositions. The research actions will have to take into account and build on existing methods and standards to compare the emission in the transport value chain of B2C e-commerce, and to be developed in line with the Commission’s initiative on EU framework for harmonised measurement of transport and logistics emissions – ‘CountEmissions EU’[1].

Proposals will have to address all of the following points:

Taking stock of existing studies, assess which conditions would make zero-emission delivery and return options attractive to consumers and which motivations and options would incentivise consumers to change their behaviour towards greener choices. Integrate an intersectional analysis of consumers’ gender, age, and socioeconomic status to account better for the customers’ variety of expectations and motivations and develop solutions which cater for all social groups.
Co-designing with and engaging consumers and retailers, and taking into account the assessed motivations and incentives, develop a set of zero-emission delivery and return options, which are at least comparable with existing delivery offering and account for the different consumer groups’ needs and motivations to change their behaviour. Identify which options would be more suitable to the customers’ group or groups more motivated to change their behaviours and act as frontrunners, thus leading to a more rapid adoption.
Actively involve consumers (e.g. through consumer organisations) and retailers in the development of guidelines and best practices for retailers to raise awareness and communicate transparently and in an understandable way on the greenhouse gas emission footprint of deliveries and returns’ modes and options.
Define scalable and generic processes and requirements for the retailers to adopt the zero-emission logistics processes in practice.
Develop and analyse different scenarios that implement measures towards both more transparent communication and implementation of cleaner and zero-emission e-commerce last mile deliveries to assess reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.
Test with selected retailers and representative customers, and in collaboration with relevant local authorities, the proposed guidelines to visualise the advanced information on emissions and the zero-emission delivery and return options towards consumers. Assess their attractiveness to consumers, the potential impact on consumers’ behaviours (including e.g. same-day delivery, returns and physical store pick up options) and their possible buy-in into more sustainable offering. In an iterative process develop and implement recommendations for improvement.