News
29/11/2018

European cities and logistics industry kick off strategic dialogue on urban freight solutions

Together, POLIS cities and regions, and ALICE industry members (Retail, Shippers, Truck/Vehicle Manufacturers, Infrastructure and Real Estate) aim to provide the European Commission with a credible, mutually understood vision on the actions needed to achieve CO2-free city logistics by 2030, one of the main objectives of the EC Transport White paper of 2011.

Most urban areas are embracing this (or similar) objective and are actively moving forward. Some have established a local dialogue with the private stakeholders concerned. Coordination among local authorities and at national and European level may help the industry reach the necessary economies of scale and speed up the process to meet cities requirements when implementing solutions towards cleaner urban freight transport.

The main purpose of this joint meeting was to exchange views, experiences and different perspectives on the main challenges of the urban freight sector, and to define the key priorities and structure for future permanent dialogue. It was acknowledged that cities and industry stakeholders could benefit from discussing and approaching these issues from a more strategic point of view through common sub-groups addressing specific topics.

Discussions focused on how local authorities can better understand and facilitate urban logistics operations, in the interest of their citizens. Hot topics were data (what to share and in what form) to achieve flows consolidation, rethinking logistics & space management in cities, access regulation models, analyse and revisit value chain, and agree on collaborative priorities: how to facilitate, organize or provoke collaboration?

There was a productive discussion between the public and private counterparts, which served as a starting point for a mutual understanding and the seed for a common position on key aspects, to be brought back to the EC and functional to speed up the transition to CO2-free city logistics by 2030.

Updates will follow in the upcoming weeks. If you want to know more about the POLIS-ALICE Urban Freight Dialogue, or you want to get actively involved, please contact Giacomo Lozzi, Urban Freight Coordinator at POLIS (glozzi@polisnetwork.eu).