Fostering humanitarian supply chain towards positive environmental sustainability impact. Insights from experiences in logistics operations

The paper highlights the emerging issue concerning range and variety of challenges to implement solutions that offer positive environmentally sustainable impact in humanitarian logistics - HL. While HL inherently contribute to social sustainability by alleviating the suffering of those in need, and its economic effort is under continuous attention, its unintended adverse environmental impact has been overlooked to date. The immediate response to disasters, for example, while well intended, sometimes causes avoidable humanitarian challenges later on: drinking water may be essential, but it is not necessary to provide it in small plastic bottles; injections may save lives, but inappropriately discarded syringes are hazardous. The present work aims at focusing on real world impact research to solve practical problems and combining theoretical improvements in the discipline. A structured literature review on the topic is combined with actual case studies and experiences in the logistics operations.