SURFLOGH presents to Scottish Climate Assembly

08 December 2021 - Published by Deirdre Buist

On 30th November, our Scottish SURFLOGH partners were invited to present the project and current research results to Scotland’s Climate Assembly. Dr Jonathan Cowie from Edinburgh Napier University gave a talk entitled “Policy implications for greening the last mile” .

The Assembly has been tasked by the Scottish Government to examine expert evidence and propose recommendations for tackling the climate emergency in a fair and effective way. To date, much of the Assembly’s work has concerned transport issues, but most of this has generally centred upon passenger related issues.

Highlighting research

The event was well attended, with over 70 delegates joining online. During his presentation, Jonathan first took the opportunity to outline the general issues around last mile logistics and then highlighted the main findings coming out of the ongoing work and research being done by the SURFLOGH partners.

Discussing deregulation

Clearly, the presentation was well received as the subsequent discussions became lively, despite the digital setting. The dialogue revolved around issues of the Royal Mail’s former role in last mile logistics, for example, and the fact that deregulation and partial privatisation of the sector has brought both benefits and drawbacks.

Automation challenges

Other points of discussion centred upon the automation of last mile logistics and the numerous challenges this presents, particularly in terms of security. The potential for rail to play a more significant role in the whole supply chain also passed the Assembly’s review.

More to come

SURFLOGH work and research continues as the project extension allows for new pilots, and further collaboration and exchange of knowledge. As Jonathan reminded his audience: "We're in a transitional phase - there's lots more to come."