Contradictory emission regulations across transport chains: challenges for international supply chains

Purpose The greenhouse gas emissions of transport are currently addressed by a combination of global, regional and national regulatory initiatives, often designed without analyzing the possibly overlapping other regulations. For a transport chain, this might mean multiple conflicting requirements, increasing costs and adding administrative burden. This research attempts to build an overall picture of environmentally motivated regulations targeting the key stakeholders in a transport chain. Design/methodology/approach This research combines inputs from focus group interviews and workshops with literature-based estimates on the extent and impacts of environmentally motivated regulatory initiatives. These regulations were further evaluated to identify the ones with the strongest impact as well as the most exposed parts of the transport chain. Findings In the analysis, around 25 different regulations were identified, many of them targeting multiple phases in the transport chain. Many of these regulations included conflicting requirements with other regulations, making abiding by them a challenge for the companies. Research limitations/implications The focus group included all the phases of a transport chain, whereas regulators were not included. Therefore, the motives of regulators are not empirically analyzed. Social implications Regulation is often prepared from a narrow perspective, targeting a single goal without considering the combined impact with other overlapping regulations. Understanding the impacts of conflicting requirements is essential for policymakers. Originality/value Previous research has mainly approached emission regulation from the perspective of a single regulation and actor. This research is one of the first to provide a comprehensive view of GHG-related regulation on a transport chain level.