Do forwarders improve sustainability efficiency? Evidence from a European DEA Malmquist index calculation

Sustainability performance and efficiency is an important topic in transportation and for forwarders. This is shown, for example, by the fact that major logistics service providers LSP publish sustainability reports, often within the annual legal business report. However, in depth research is missing regarding the efficiency of forwarders regarding the established triple bottom line approach for sustainability, including economic, social, and ecology performance areas. This is especially true for a dynamic time-series perspective, as usually only static analyses for one point in time are presented (in most cases single business years). Therefore, the operations research technique of a data envelopment analysis (DEA) Malmquist index calculation is used in order to provide a longitudinal calculation of efficiency, incorporating multiple objectives regarding the triple bottom line approach for European forwarders. Several indicators are tested, including total revenues and assets as input types, profit (EBIT) and dividend volume (economic dimension), employment and gender equality in management (social), and carbon-equivalent emissions (environmental) as output types.