CoDe ZERO - Development of a Co-Designed ZERO-carbon urban freight system. Final Report

This report presents the results of CoDe ZERO, a six-month project funded by the DecarboN8 network through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The aim of the project was to understand challenges and opportunities of freight decarbonisation in urban areas in the North of England, considering the perspective of key freight stakeholders based in the North.

The main output of the project is a co-designed roadmap with a series of solutions to achieve urban freight decarbonisation by 2040. Findings show that stakeholders understand the importance of decarbonising urban freight to achieve the net zero target by 2050 (or even sooner) but believe there are a series of challenges, mainly related to the development of efficient cleaner technological
solutions and to behaviour/organisational change.

Technical solutions such as electrification and new fuels (e.g., hydrogen) are seen as the most effective way forward to achieve urban freight decarbonisation. However, their full implementation might require time and other solutions would be needed to start reducing carbon emissions in the short term. There will not be a unique solution to solve the problem of urban freight decarbonisation, but a range of different solutions that can be integrated into a broader system-based solution.