Logistics industry agrees on solutions but struggles to scale them

• Logistics providers and their customers rate 21 sustainability solutions almost identically. Feasibility, not disagreement, influences what gets adopted.
• Infrastructure could become the bottleneck of the coming decade if low-carbon  vehicles and fuels scale faster than the charging networks, terminals, and rail they rely on.
• The report makes recommendations for policymakers and logistics professionals on scaling sustainability solutions, building skills, and adapting to climate risks. 

Logistics companies and their customers largely agree on which measures cut emissions. But solutions that need heavy investment, public infrastructure or policy support, such as charging networks and rail, are lagging, according to the first Global Sustainable Logistics Survey (GSLS), initiated and published today by Kühne Logistics University (KLU) and the Kuehne Climate Center (KCC). The report, based on responses from 1,085 people working in logistics across 64 countries, includes 10 recommendations for policymakers and 12 for logistics professionals. The GSLS is the first global, longitudinal study on sustainable logistics and its 2026 report sets a baseline for tracking the sector over the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026–2035). 

No market divide: Feasibility is the deciding factor for adoption 

The survey data contradicts the idea that the least widely adopted sustainability solutions are the result of disagreement between the supply and demand sides of logistics services, regarding the merits of measures. Both sides show remarkable agreement on the effectiveness and legitimacy of solutions. The data suggests that the reason for why some fail to scale lies elsewhere: Those that require co-ordinated system-level interventions or public investments, solutions such as low-carbon fuels, fleet electrification, modal shift to rail and waterways, and carbon pricing, are less widely adopted. They depend on sustained public-sector commitment and investment, together with coordinated action between policymakers and industry. 

Skills shortages point to hierarchy of need 

Technical and domain-specific skills are considered to be in short supply – with regional differences. A shortage of Emissions Calculation & Reporting Skills is perceived as highest (up to 60% of respondents) in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and three Asian sub regions. This pattern nearly reverses for the supply of strategic and analytical skills: Systems Thinking appears in short supply in Western Europe (43%). One interpretation offered by the study team: Regions reporting shortages in Systems Thinking and Boardroom & Executive  Engagement are not necessarily further behind but have already largely addressed the more basic needs in terms of technology or emissions measurement skills.  

Redesign, not repair: Climate risk and investment needs 

In 2026 the need for climate adaptation became hard to ignore: In late May, temperatures across northern India stayed above 45 °C for days, and delivery riders in Delhi had to keep working through the afternoon heat. In mid-July, a Canadian National freight train was  trapped by a wildfire while waiting at a signal; in mid-August, the Rhine gauge at Kaub in Germany fell below 10 centimeters. 

Four out of five (83%) respondents believe that climate change will require a fundamental redesign of logistics networks. Yet only 45% consider current adaptation efforts adequate for the foreseeable future. Extreme heat ranks as the most urgent risk to assets and operations in every transport mode and every region surveyed. 

Respondents rate three measures as most effective: climate-proofing infrastructure, climate risk assessment and scenario planning, and digital tools for monitoring climate risk. All three are rated highly across every type of hazard, which suggests preferable adaptation investment builds general resilience rather than protection against one specific risk. 

Prof. Dr. Johannes Meuer, Lead Investigator of the GSLS, Center for Sustainable Logistics and Supply Chains (CSLS), Kühne Logistics University: “Sustainable logistics solutions exist, but too few are making it from research and pilots into everyday practice. The 2026 GSLS Report shows what is happening on the ground and why, giving policymakers, companies, and educators the evidence to act. As the first edition of a series under the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport, it establishes a baseline against which we can track progress on making global logistics more sustainable.” 

Mark Major, Co-Initiator and Policy Lead of GSLS, Senior Strategy Director, Kuehne Climate Center: “Even the findings from first edition show the urgency to identify system level interventions and policies needed to tackle lagging adoption of effective solutions, skills shortages and the vulnerability of logistics due to climate change. We will contribute to this and deliver insights and recommendations that will inform debate, guide action, and help advance progress over the next decade."  

The Global Sustainable Logistics Survey is a voluntary contribution to the UN Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026–2035), a global initiative to put sustainable transport at the center of the international development agenda. 

The full report as well as summary reports are available on globalsustainablelogisticssurvey.org, the summary reports in six languages: Arabic, Chinese,  English, French, German, and Spanish.