Designing green and sustainable transport and logistics in the city of the future – German companies have excellent expertise in this area. At the same time, metropolitan regions worldwide are faced with the question of what their infrastructure of the future should and can look like. But how can German green and sustainable products be made adaptable to the needs and conditions of these dynamic metropolitan areas? With the “GLI-X: Green Logistic Indicators for Exports”, nexus, together with GESI – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Systeminnovation mbH – is developing a Smart Logistics Indicator System that supports companies in exporting their green and sustainable environmental infrastructure and adapting it to the needs of export markets. In export markets, German industry often faces the challenge that its technically advanced solution does not match the level of knowledge and training or infrastructure available in the export market. It must therefore be adapted to the capabilities and initial conditions found there. For this purpose, a measurement and indicator system is helpful that allows to assess the level and compatibility of the local situation in order to be able to design the offer to the individual needs of the export market.

Using the example of logistics in the metropolitan region of Gauteng (South Africa) and the city of Johannesburg, an indicator system and method are to be developed that represent the respective current status (transport time, resource use, emissions, costs) and make it possible to measure progress in the region. The region has approximately 12 million inhabitants. In addition, South Africa is particularly active in climate protection in the Group of 77 (G77) and is a close political and economic African partner of the Federal Republic in the areas of climate, energy and infrastructure. The Johannesburg metropolitan region is the leading city in Africa in the smart city sector. At the same time, new structures relevant to logistics are emerging in the metropolitan region, such as an automotive or fresh produce cluster. There is a broad openness both on the political-administrative side and in the public towards evidence-based approaches to promote sustainable developments. The development of this indicator system is intended to enable German companies to evaluate potential export markets; to measure the increase in efficiency when applying technologies from Germany; and, based on this, to develop targeted argumentation aids and marketing support that focus on increasing the efficiency of sustainability and green economy.

Methodologically, participatory dialogue procedures with stakeholders from all relevant areas, expert interviews and desk work are used in the project. Based on all three methods, the necessary data on the initial situation and goals are collected and the indicators and the rough concept are developed.

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Duration: 09/2017 – 07/2021
Client: Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und nukleare Sicherheit
Team: Sabine Schröder (Project manager), Michael Abraham, Vanessa Kügler, Owen Wooden
Client: GESI Deutsche Gesellschaft für Systeminnovation mbH
Brochure: Green Logistics Indicators for Gauteng, South Africa January 2017