Green Logistics: Why Efficiency Is Key to Sustainability

Nowadays, talking about “green” logistics is no longer a symbolic declaration of good intentions. It has become a matter of operations, competitiveness, and real costs. As e-commerce continues to grow, SMEs expand their export activity, and markets demand greater sustainability, Mexican logistics faces an urgent challenge: reducing the carbon footprint of transportation and logistics operations.

Freight transportation is a significant contributor to global climate impact. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), transport accounts for around 24% of direct carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions associated with global energy consumption, positioning the sector as a key player in any decarbonization strategy.

This footprint includes not only vehicle movement and traditional fuels, but all the interconnected activities within the supply chain. And within that universe, there is a factor that often goes unnoticed, yet, can dramatically amplify both emissions and operating costs: returns, reprocessing, and poor logistics planning.

The Hidden Waste in Logistics

When a company prepares a shipment that is later returned, whether due to inventory errors, incorrect addresses, lack of customer coordination. or defective packaging, the physical journey is not just repeated. The carbon footprint associated with transporting that package is effectively doubled, additional costs are generated, and the operation must absorb inventory reintegration, returns management, and the planning of a new shipment.

Recent studies show that these return flows can become a significant source of additional emissions and environmental waste if they are not designed with efficiency and optimization in mind. That is why measuring emissions associated with returns and reprocessing is not merely an environmental discussion, it is an operational and efficiency imperative.

Beyond the direct environmental impact, returns and reprocessing also distort the true performance of logistics operations. When inefficiencies are absorbed as “normal operating costs,” companies lose visibility into where value is actually being destroyed. Excess mileage, emergency re-shipments, and repeated handling not only inflate emissions, but also mask structural problems in forecasting, inventory accuracy, and order management. Over time, this weakens decision-making and makes it harder for companies, especially SMEs, to scale their operations in a sustainable way.

This challenge becomes even more evident in urban and cross-border logistics, where congestion, customs procedures, and last-mile complexity already strain delivery networks. Each avoidable return adds friction to an ecosystem operating close to its capacity limits. From an environmental standpoint, the impact is cumulative: emissions are not generated by one inefficient shipment, but by thousands of small operational failures repeated every day. From a business perspective, the message is clear: logistics sustainability is achieved not through isolated initiatives, but through process redesign that eliminates unnecessary movement at scale.

'Greener Logistics'

In this context, “greener” logistics is not only about adopting electric vehicles. It is about fewer unnecessary trips, fewer picking and packing errors, and fewer reprocessing cycles. That kind of efficiency translates directly into lower emissions and lower costs.

The goal is not to turn every operator into an environmental expert, but to apply operational efficiency tools that, as a positive side effect, also reduce emissions. When work is not repeated, the footprint naturally shrinks.

For several years now — and with even greater relevance in 2026 — I believe it is essential to measure what was previously invisible and turn it into a competitive advantage.

Reducing the carbon footprint of logistics will not be achieved solely through electric vehicles or alternative fuels — important as those technologies may be — but through smarter logistics, less redundancy, and better alignment with operational data.

Ultimately, the greenest logistics is the one that does not have to be repeated.

Ilan Epelbaum is managing director of Mail Boxes Etc. Mexico (MBE). He leads the company’s commercial partnerships and brand positioning in the country, oversees franchise relations, and is responsible for MBE’s nationwide expansion.