Vol. 78 No. 2 (2023)
Research Articles

The air quality benefits of electric vehicles’ adoption in the short food supply chain

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  • Antonino Galati ,
  • Nino Adamashvili,
  • Demetris Vrontis,
  • Maria Crescimanno
Antonino Galati
Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo
Bio
Nino Adamashvili
Department of Economics, University of Foggia
Bio
Demetris Vrontis
Department of Management, School of Business, University of Nicosia, Nicosia
Bio
Maria Crescimanno
Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo
Bio
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/rea-14412

Published 2023-12-31

Keywords

  • Environmental cost,
  • food delivery,
  • logystics,
  • sustainable food supply chain,
  • carbon footprint,
  • Bactery electric vehicle
    • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

Galati , A., Adamashvili, N., Vrontis, D., & Crescimanno, M. (2023). The air quality benefits of electric vehicles’ adoption in the short food supply chain. Italian Review of Agricultural Economics (REA), 78(2), 67–77. https://doi.org/10.36253/rea-14412

Copyright (c) 2023 Antonino Galati , Nino Adamashvili, Demetris Vrontis, Maria Crescimanno

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Concerns continue to rise about environmental sustainability and the impacts of traditional transportation systems. Exploring alternative solutions therefore becomes imperative. This paper aims to investigate the potential advantages of integrating battery electric vehicles into the agricultural short food supply chain with a specific focus on air quality improvements. In order to reach the research goal, this study gives a thorough and comparative environmental analysis based on a real-world test conducted under the EnerNETMob project financed by the InterregMed programme, in contrast to other studies that primarily relied on general parameters and simulations. This study illustrated that using an electric vehicle (EV), like the Nissan e-NV200, for short-distance transportation of agri-food products is not an environmentally sustainable solution instead of using a petrol-powered vehicle. However, as the distance travelled increases, the environmental impact of electric vehicles diminishes, surpassing that of internal combustion vehicles. This study holds significant theoretical, practical and policy implications that are worth considering.

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