Urban Deliveries Case Studies Combined 2025

In 2024, the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Accenture, published Transforming Urban Logistics: Sustainable and Efficient Last-Mile Delivery in Cities, warning that the rapid growth of e-commerce could soon overwhelm urban infrastructure without urgent intervention. If current trends continue, urban deliveries are expected to grow 78% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. This surge would drive a 32% increase in carbon emissions by 2030, while the number of delivery vehicles on already congested roads could increase by 36%. The consequences of such inaction are steep: more pollution and congestion, undermining the quality of life in cities.1 To address this challenge, the report outlined a shared action agenda for last-mile delivery. It calls on both public and private actors to: –Electrify delivery fleets at scale –Reconfigure curbsides and delivery zones –Expand use of urban consolidation centres and micro hubs –Shift to micromobility and non-motorized options –Reform regulatory frameworks and enable data sharingBuilding on this action agenda, leading retailers, logistics providers and technology firms have endorsed the Urban Deliveries Ambition Statement,2 pledging to accelerate the transformation of urban deliveries through a commitment to developing shared infrastructure and opening up new forms of data collaboration, while also directing capital into the shift towards zero-emission operations. These initiatives are supported by the Innovation Impact Alliance. The Alliance is an initiative of the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Urban Transformation, which brings together innovation ecosystems to spark cross-regional partnerships and to showcase lessons from local projects, inspire action and scale world-leading models and solutions. This document highlights five key solution areas for sustainable last-mile logistics, each illustrated with a real-world promising practice. The solution areas represent a strategic approach that addresses specific challenges in urban logistics transformation, while the promising practices represent real-world implementations that show potential for impact based on early results but may still be evolving. These practices are presented for learning and adaptation as cities and companies experiment and scale new approaches. Each of these practices explore: Snapshot The policy or project at a glance, including its goals, the specific problem it addresses, local context and alignment with broader sustainability frameworks. Implementation Description of timelines, technological choices, pilot phases, stakeholder engagement, financing and regulatory facilitators. Stakeholders involved The private and public actors involved, and groups from civil society.Impact Quantifiable outcomes (CO2 saved, delivery times improved, cost reductions) and qualitative impacts (public space use, courier and resident experience). Takeaways Lessons learned, contextual considerations and recommendations for adapting or scaling the initiative elsewhere. As cities and companies move from ambition to implementation, these interventions illustrate the practical challenges and trade-offs involved in redesigning urban delivery systems to reduce impact while maintaining operational viability.Solution area Promising practice City Off-hour deliveries NYC’s Off-hour Deliveries programme New York City, United States River-based urban deliveries IKEA’s Seine River Delivery programme Paris, France Pedestrianizing deliveries Amazon’s Walker on Zone Dispatch London, United Kingdom Smart infrastructure for fleet electrificationPosten Bring’s Smart Electrification Norway Micromobility for urban deliveries iFood’s Pedal programme in Brazil Brazil