On 12 March, the Sustainable Mobility Club met at the Provence Verte Campus to discuss a key issue: the decarbonisation of agri-food logistics. Designed as a forum for discussion between public and private players, the event aimed to bring together ambitions for transition and operational realities.
Logistics remains a critical issue, with fragmented flows, poorly controlled costs, short circuit constraints and empty runs. This has a major carbon impact and many costs, some of which are invisible, particularly in the last kilometre.
Round-table discussions, feedback and demonstrations provided an opportunity to compare approaches and highlight concrete initiatives, in particular the European GARDEN project, in which the cluster is a partner, dedicated to decarbonising agri-food hubs in the Mediterranean region, as well as solutions such as retrofitting and fleet electrification.
Speakers from the field illustrated these issues with real-life cases, providing members with keys that can be directly applied to their projects.
Decarbonisation of logistics, 3 key lessons to remember :
- Pooling flows as a condition of viability :
The various feedbacks from experience all point to the same thing: without massification of flows, it is difficult to reconcile cost reduction and lower emissions. The experiments presented by Fab'limthe Grand Marché de Provence and the Provence Verte Campus show that pooling - whether of routes, logistics platforms or urban hubs - optimises journeys, reduces empty mileage and makes models more robust.
- The structuring role of logistics management :
Beyond the infrastructure, it's the organisation that makes the difference. The Southern Region, by DACHSER and local players have stressed the importance of a “flow manager” or dedicated governance to coordinate players, anticipate volumes and structure flows. This function, which is still in its infancy, is becoming a key link in local logistics ecosystems.
- Technological innovation must be part of a coherent business model :
Retrofitting vehicles, electrifying fleets, recharging stations, new powertrains: the solutions exist and were amply illustrated by Qinomic, Anyos and MEEED during the day. But their relevance depends very much on the context in which they are used. Demonstrations, particularly around the European GARDEN project, show that environmental performance must be accompanied by economic viability and operational acceptability if it is to be truly deployable.
Join us on 7 July for the second 2026 edition of the Sustainable Mobility Club!
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