How the EU's sustainability transition is reshaping the competitiveness of the European logistics sector

How the EU sustainability transition is reshaping the competitiveness of the European logistics sector under conditions of geopolitical pressure, energy dependency and regulatory asymmetry

I am Emmanouil Xanthoulis, a Lieutenant Commander in the Hellenic Navy and currently an MSc student in Operations and Supply Chain Management at the University of Plymouth. As part of my studies, I am conducting a research project aiming to critically evaluate how the EU sustainability transition is reshaping the competitiveness of the European logistics sector under conditions of geopolitical pressure, energy dependency and regulatory asymmetry.

Key questions

• Do EU sustainability policies strengthen logistics competitiveness through innovation, efficiency and resilience?
• Do they create additional costs and uneven pressures across firms?
• Is sustainability becoming a commercial requirement—a “licence to operate”—rather than a source of differentiation?
• How do geopolitical instability, energy dependency and reliance on critical materials affect sustainable logistics investment?

Overview

European logistics firms are required to decarbonise, provide sustainability data and invest in alternative technologies while operating under rising energy costs and geopolitical uncertainty.
These pressures may stimulate innovation and long-term efficiency, but they may also increase compliance costs, disadvantage smaller firms and create new strategic dependencies.
The research examines this tension and seeks to identify the conditions under which sustainability strengthens European logistics competitiveness or, alternatively, creates additional vulnerability.

Results

With Associate Professor Stavros Karamperidis, we will share the findings with F&L members this Autumn.

Emmanouil Xanthoulis
Plymouth University
August 2026