Logistics And Sustainable Development

In many western countries, logistics is not only a mature theory but extensively developsin practice, and has become an important pillar for economic growth of a country. In recentyears, as China's market economy comes into being and develops, a tide for developinglogistic industry flourishes in all localities. A number of provinces and municipalitiesconsider logistic industry as a new point of economic growth and attach great attention thereto,and furthermore work out corresponding urban logistic development plans. However, in thecurrent logistics tide, people tend to focus more concerns on economic interest than otherthings. This tendency can be clearly shown in whether logistics as a "source of third profits"advanced from a micro perspective or logistics as a "facilitator" of economic growth putforward from a macro perspective. In fact, great spillovers exist in a logistic procedure.Along with economic growth, logistic activities exerts an increasingly severe destructiveinfluence on the ecological environment, such as waste gas pollution, noise pollution, wasteof resources, traffic jams, and increase of wastes. All of such consequences are to someextent against the principle of global sustainable development strategy and objectivelyprovide a firm and reliable basis for us to probe the development strategy of logistics against abackground of sustainable development. Nevertheless, China's current logistic studies havenot shed light on this "dark land" yet. Therefore, a systematic and in-depth study thereofturns out to be a sole point of departure and potential of the dissertation. The dissertation aims to analyze the operation mechanism of the modern logistic systembased on the sustainable development theory and by means of system theory, and to probeChina's logistic development pattern in line with sustainable development from a plurality ofperspectives such as governments, trades societies and enterprises by giving a comprehensivethought to factors like logistics, economy, resources and environment. In theory, thedissertation intends to break the "obstructed" phenomena in the present-day logistic studies,that is, to change the original one-way material flow pattern of"resources—products—emission of wastes", and to, in place thereof, constitute a circularlogistic system of "resources—products—renewable resources". In practice, the dissertationintends to establish an effectively operable and environment-friendly green logistic system,thereby providing a "bridge" over the economic system and the ecological system, improvingthe economic benefits, social benefits and ecological benefits of the logistic system and the 5现代物流与可持续发展entire supply chain, and finally realizing "win-win" of logistic economy and environment. The main contents and opinions discussed in the dissertation are listed as follows: (1) Formation and development of logistics The concept of "logistics" originates from the United States, and it evolves from itsearliest vocabulary "physical distribution" to the present-day wording. Meanwhile, theconnotation of the term also constantly changes to be on the rich side to meet the needs ofdevelopment of logistic activities. Nowadays, the term "logistics", as mentioned by people,generally refers to modern logistics. The so-called modern logistics refers to an entireprocedure of raw materials and finished products being supplied from a supply place to aconsumption place and of effective flow of relevant information. It combines transportation, warehouse storage, loading and unloading, circulation andprocessing, packaging, distribution and information transfer in an organic way to form acomplete supply chain so as to provide clients with multi-purpose integrated service.Modern logistics is substantive foundation of circulation, a "source of third profits" ofenterprises as we...