The environmental implications of electronic commerce

Abstract

There are accelerating trends for the implementation of electronic commerce (e-commerce) as an extra marketing channel for selling products globally via the access of the Internet. This is expected to influence the shape of future cities and the conservation of natural resources. This paper critically reviews the current research work to date regarding the environmental implications of e-commerce. The main observation is that there are difficulties to generalise the results. There is a general agreement that it is highly difficult, if not impossible, to state if the damaging effects of e-commerce on the environment can weigh over the advantageous effects or the contrary. One proposition in this context is that instead of looking at e-commerce as "a vehicle driving towards freely satisfying the market needs", we should look at e-commerce as "a cart attached to our vehicle towards sustainable development".

Not All E-commerce Emits Equally: Systematic Quantitative Review of Online and Store Purchases’ Carbon Footprint

“…4 They argue that most studies, regardless of their findings, find that e-commerce can generate both advantageous and damaging environmental effects. 4 In agreement, Mokhtarian states that impact assessments present "formidable measurement challenges" and calls for creative efforts to study e-commerce and its transportation impacts. 5 Mangiaracina et al explicitly concentrate on logistics processes, thereby following the dominant approach in the literature.…”

“…Contrary to these studies, , most reviews take a conceptual approach in revising environmental impact assessments of online versus offline shopping. Abukhader and Jönson focus specifically on the range of methodological choices that influence impact assessments and their outcomes, including the type (“trade type”) and the number of items bought (“product focus”), geographical area (“geographical borders”), type of market being business-to-consumer or business-to-business (“supply chain spectrums”), e-commerce penetration (“penetration into market”), included supply chain activities (“impact dimension”), and applied methodology (“tools/resource dimension”) . They argue that most studies, regardless of their findings, find that e-commerce can generate both advantageous and damaging environmental effects .…”

“…Abukhader and Jönson focus specifically on the range of methodological choices that influence impact assessments and their outcomes, including the type (“trade type”) and the number of items bought (“product focus”), geographical area (“geographical borders”), type of market being business-to-consumer or business-to-business (“supply chain spectrums”), e-commerce penetration (“penetration into market”), included supply chain activities (“impact dimension”), and applied methodology (“tools/resource dimension”) . They argue that most studies, regardless of their findings, find that e-commerce can generate both advantageous and damaging environmental effects . In agreement, Mokhtarian states that impact assessments present “formidable measurement challenges” and calls for creative efforts to study e-commerce and its transportation impacts …”

“…Several literature reviews have been carried out revising the knowledge to date. − Some date back nearly 2 decades and only two take a quantitative approach. , These studies are discussed in this section. Based on the findings of nine transport modeling assessments focused on groceries, Cairns concludes that the kilometers saved when shopping groceries online are likely to be substantial .…”

Comparing the Energy Consumption of Logistics Chains in Traditional Retailing and E-commerce for Popular Products in the Context of China

“…With the proliferation of e-commerce, however, there is increased uncertainty regarding energy efficiency -in terms of the energy consumption incurred in the logistics chain for a purchase -in relation to the new business model. E-commerce is expected to influence a range of man-made systems of industrial infrastructure, including systems of manufacturing, transportation, packaging and warehousing (Abukhader 2003). For the retailing industry, the influence of ICT is profound.…”