Assessing Green Logistics Processes: proposal of a Three-Dimensional Maturity Model

Resource utilization, process optimization, and supply chain configuration are pivotal factors in economic growth-oriented contexts. However, economic development cannot neglect environmental considerations. Improvement strategies and tools enable processes, such as logistics, to achieve both economic and environmental objectives. Among the existing tools available to practitioners and academics, maturity models assess the alignment of systems and processes with the best practices across different dimensions and sub-dimensions. Despite the relevance of the topic, limited attention has been given to the development, validation, and application of maturity models for logistics, especially green logistics. Consequently, this article proposes a five-level Green Logistics Maturity Model (GLMM). The GLMM allows for the identification of the current state of a logistics process according to three dimensions: resource, process, and network management. A novel multi-methodological theoretical approach was employed to identify the model elements. Specifically, a literature review was conducted on 16 maturity models for logistics. Moreover, a systematic literature network analysis of 949 articles related to green logistics was carried out using both co-occurrence and thematic map analyses. The primary contribution of this work is to lay the foundation for a practical tool to describe and compare the current state of logistics activities and to identify areas for improvement. The results of this research may be of interest to logistics practitioners, supply chain managers, and researchers for GLMM application toward more environmentally friendly processes.