About – SuCoLo

SuCoLo will foster sustainable consumer behaviour

with the help of inclusive bicycle logistics infrastructure in urban outskirts

Learn more

Facts and Figures

Start Date: January 2024

Start: January 2024

End: June 2026

30

Months

6

Project partners

4

Countries

3

Research pilots in different cities

Objectives of the project

Exploring Sustainable E-commerce Delivery Solutions

The first goal is to explore innovative planning strategies that prioritize human needs in developing sustainable choices for e-commerce delivery and logistics services. This will involve using living lab methodologies to create, test, and confirm the viability of these approaches. The focus will be on improving delivery and pick-up services in the outer areas of cities by collaborating with local residents, governmental bodies, and businesses committed to fostering sustainable and inclusive practices.

Evaluating Sustainable Last-Mile Delivery Strategies

Creating a Behavior Change Guide for Sustainable Logistics

Developing and Testing a Toolkit for Bicycle Hubs and Sustainable Logistics

The fourth objective is to develop, trial, and assess a comprehensive toolkit designed for Bicycle Hubs & Sustainable Logistics. This toolkit will encompass technical, infrastructural, and behavioral elements and will be put to the test through three research pilots located in urban outskirts. The focus will be on creating solutions that are inclusive and sensitive to gender differences, facilitating the pick-up and delivery of goods via sustainable modes of transportation. Additionally, these solutions aim to enhance the overall quality of neighborhood life.

Promoting the Adoption of SuCoLo Findings in Follower Cities

The fifth objective is to guarantee the widespread adoption and practical application of the scientific outputs and findings from the SuCoLo project. This will be achieved by facilitating their transfer to and implementation by cities that follow the initiative, with the aim of enhancing sustainability, inclusiveness, and quality of life in urban outskirts. The focus is on ensuring that these cities can benefit from the project’s research to foster better living conditions and more sustainable urban environments.

Our three research pilots

Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg-based partners Salzburg Research and VIABIRDS Technologies are teaming up to gain behavioural insights concerning the intention and willingness of online shoppers to choose sustainable delivery options when it is offered to them on e-commerce sites. First, the currently most effective behaviour change interventions (i.e., digital nudges) for sustainable consumer delivery choices on e-commerce sites in studies and in practice will be analysed. After a state-of-the-art analysis including an open ideation campaign and co-creation workshops with local stakeholders, an inventory of novel, research-based digital nudges to encourage online shoppers to choose sustainable modes of delivery will be designed – transferring interventions from other fields. In the Salzburg research pilot, a webshop simulator that emulates a local shop has been developed to test the effectiveness of inventory of developed digital nudges among diverse user groups

Leipzig, Germany

We plan to survey different places around the outskirts of the city to see how easily people with disabilities (and others) can access potential goods pick-up stations without facing any physical barriers. The Leipzig Logistics Living Lab, run by ULEI, will work together with local residents and other interested parties to design concepts for pick-up stations and a small delivery hub, which will also serve as a place where people can meet.

In partnership with the online store Locally Happy and the bike courier service Fulmo, we’ll test and review the delivery of goods by bicycle and cargo bike. This includes transporting items from retailers to the small hub and then from the hub to customers or pick-up stations. Additionally, we’ll use the Locally Happy platform to test digital ways to encourage people to make eco-friendly choices, guided by the expertise of VIA and SRFG.

Merano, Italy

The Merano pilot will test how to seamlessly add cargo bikes to its bike-sharing system, including a digital booking system and trials. This initiative aims to encourage eco-friendly delivery and collection options, particularly through a collaboration with a local commercial activity for regional product deliveries using the Fix bike-delivery service, emphasizing the environmental benefits.

Local stores will evaluate customer uptake of green delivery methods, providing both digital and traditional ordering to ensure inclusivity. We’ll identify potential collection station locations, with a focus on the Maia Bassa/Untermais neighborhood for a prototype station. This station will not only serve as a pick-up point but also as a community hub, featuring areas for socializing and cultural activities.

The station’s design will be developed together with the community and stakeholders, with a strong emphasis on accessibility and attractiveness for individuals with disabilities.

SuCoLo

Fostering sustainable consumer behaviour with inclusive bicycle logistics infrastructure in urban outskirts

Contact

Project Coordinator

Michael Thelen, MA

Salzburg Research Forschungsgesellschaft m.b.H.

sucolo@salzurgresearch.at