How can we build a zero-carbon logistics center?

I. Logistics parks are central to carbon neutrality in the logistics industry.

The logistics industry is an important component of socio-economic development and also a major consumer of energy and emitter of greenhouse gases. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, During the 12th and 13th Five-Year Plans, energy consumption in the logistics sector continued to rise. Energy use in the transportation, warehousing, and postal services industries increased from approximately 251 million tonnes of coal equivalent in 2010 to about 439 million tonnes of coal equivalent in 2019, with its share of China’s total energy consumption growing from 8.2% to over 9%. This trend is expected to remain on a rapid upward trajectory during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

2010–2019 Energy Consumption and Share of the Transport, Storage, and Postal Sectors (Unit: 100 million tons of standard coal)

Image source: Carbon Neutrality Guidelines for Logistics Parks - JD Logistics & Schneider

In China, carbon emission intensity and total carbon emissions Under the “dual control” framework, green, sustainable, and low‑carbon development will inevitably become the long-term direction for the logistics industry, with carbon neutrality serving as its ultimate goal. Logistics centers (parks) are the core units driving the agglomeration and growth of logistics activities; they spatially cluster upstream and downstream enterprises in the supply chain, integrate multiple modes of transport, and encompass a wide array of logistics facilities and functional business formats. Consequently, logistics parks will play a pivotal role in advancing the industry’s journey toward carbon neutrality.

II. Carbon Neutrality Solutions for Logistics Parks

Carbon Neutrality Pathways for Logistics Parks

Image source: Carbon Neutrality Guidelines for Logistics Parks - JD Logistics & Schneider

1. Conduct a carbon inventory for the logistics park. Conducting a carbon baseline inventory for the industrial park is the first step toward achieving carbon neutrality and helps logistics parks establish their emissions levels for the base year. A phased, incremental approach should be adopted to define organizational boundaries, identify greenhouse gas categories, map relevant activities, and assess emissions at the activity level.

2. Establish a long-term carbon neutrality plan for the logistics park. The pathway to carbon neutrality for logistics parks should begin with top-level strategic planning, with external policies, industry benchmarks, the enterprise’s current status, and its overall development plan all requiring thorough consideration in the formulation of a carbon-neutral strategy.

3. Develop carbon reduction measures tailored to emission sources:

3.1 Energy Efficiency Optimization : including digital stations, automated warehousing, 5G edge-cloud collaboration, 5G AR‑based operations and maintenance, intelligent transportation, blockchain‑enabled paperless handovers, indoor logistics scheduling systems, labor‑hour analysis and warehouse‑area shift scheduling, and smart energy conservation, among others.

3.2 Green Energy : Decarbonizing the power sector is a key pathway to global decarbonization, with electrification of energy consumption and clean‑energy generation serving as critical pillars. The energy transition in logistics parks requires interconnected green‑energy infrastructure and a digitalized green‑energy management system. Green and sustainable technologies include distributed renewable energy sources and new‑energy logistics vehicles; the digital green‑energy management framework encompasses park‑level power system architecture design, microgrid energy management, power‑quality optimization, and electrical asset health management.

3.3 Resource Circulation: Including shared pallets, reusable packaging crates, and an intelligent consumables recommendation system.

3.4 Digital Monitoring : Quantify and measure regulatory compliance through digital technologies, including monitoring energy consumption in logistics parks, carbon emissions across the park’s functional zones, and safety‑production oversight.

III. Trends in the Low-Carbon Development of Corporate Logistics Parks

From a market perspective, the infrastructure of the entire logistics supply chain still has considerable room for growth. This encompasses both the foundational development of supply-chain infrastructure and the adoption of more efficient, intelligent, and low-carbon solutions—areas that are increasingly prioritized by companies as they advance their supply-chain strategies. Consequently, driven by supportive policies and buoyed by vast market potential, the low‑carbon transformation of logistics parks has become a strategic focus for leading logistics firms. This year… In April, Cainiao disclosed that photovoltaic power-generation facilities are under construction at its three major parks—the Haikou Comprehensive Bonded Zone, the Haikou Airport‑Adjacent Logistics Park, and the Hangzhou Renhe Park. Going forward, Cainiao plans to accelerate the deployment of solar‑energy systems across its global logistics parks, turning millions of square meters of rooftop space into hubs for clean‑energy production. Earlier, SF Express also announced that it has installed photovoltaic systems with a total installed capacity of approximately 34.4 MW at Hubei Huahu Airport.

IV. Classic Cases of Zero-Carbon and Low-Carbon Logistics Parks at Home and Abroad

1. JD.com’s “Asia No. 1” Xi’an Smart Industrial Park Recently, JD.com The “Asia No. 1” Xi’an Smart Industrial Park has passed Beijing’s… Certified by the Green Exchange, it has become the nation’s first logistics park to achieve carbon neutrality.

JD.com The “Asia No. 1” Xi’an Smart Industrial Park was commissioned in 2019. In advancing carbon neutrality, the park leverages the region’s abundant solar resources to generate continuous renewable electricity through photovoltaic power and energy storage systems, maximizing the use of on-site renewable green energy to replace conventional sources. At the same time, by refining energy‑efficiency management practices, optimizing sorting and transportation processes, deploying distributed air‑conditioning systems that precisely meet localized heating needs, and introducing new‑energy specialized equipment and charging stations, the park continuously enhances its operational efficiency and electrification levels, thereby achieving energy‑efficiency improvements. Building on these measures, the park further offsets its own greenhouse gas emissions through carbon‑trading mechanisms and value‑chain optimization, ultimately attaining net-zero carbon dioxide emissions.

The 100,000-square-meter rooftop photovoltaic system generates enough electricity in just ten months to meet the annual consumption of 4,000 typical households. By leveraging carbon trading and optimizing its value chain, the park offsets its own greenhouse gas emissions, achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions.

The photovoltaic rooftop covers an area equivalent to more than ten soccer fields, “Dark‑light” operations save in one minute the amount of electricity a household uses in a year and a half.

JD.com “Asia No. 1” Smart Industrial Park is one of the largest smart logistics centers in Northwest China. With a total floor area of nearly 300,000 square meters—equivalent to more than 40 standard football fields—the park processes over 500,000 orders per day on average. Throughout the facility, green, low‑carbon infrastructure and cutting‑edge “black tech” are everywhere. All rooftops are fitted with photovoltaic systems totaling 9 MW; the 100,000-square-meter PV roof covers more than one third of the park’s total area and has already been connected to the grid, providing a steady supply of clean energy. During the day, this green power powers the park’s office lighting, while at night, a pilot project integrating cars, carports, charging stations, and solar panels enables electric vehicles to be recharged. Data shows that from January to October last year alone, the system generated approximately 8,500 MWh—enough to meet the annual electricity needs of nearly 4,000 typical households—while avoiding the consumption of nearly 2,600 tons of coal compared with thermal power generation and reducing carbon emissions by about 5,670 tons relative to purchasing grid‑supplied electricity. Inside “Asia No. 1,” two large automated high‑bay storage systems stand 22 meters tall, featuring 12 levels of mezzanine racking and delivering three times the storage efficiency of conventional facilities. The No. 1 automated high‑bay warehouse, housing over 250,000 SKUs, is remarkably quiet; its vast, open spaces echo only with the faint hum of stacker cranes autonomously navigating the tracks according to computer instructions. Despite its immense scale, only three staff members are needed to perform auxiliary control tasks. Unlike traditional logistics warehouses bathed in bright lights, these automated high‑bay facilities operate under a “dark‑light” mode: powered by an intelligent control platform, they require no artificial illumination. Once an order arrives, the system automatically retrieves and dispatches the goods; when no transport tasks are pending, the conveyor system can shut down automatically within one minute, saving both energy and operational hassle. Tests indicate that, on average, each minute of “dark‑light” operation saves 2,283 kWh—equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of a typical household over a year and a half.

JD.com The automated high-bay warehouse at the “Asia No. 1” Xi’an Smart Industrial Park operates entirely under “dark‑light” conditions.

Reducing the weight of corrugated paper can save annually Over 200,000 tons of pulp—by slimming tape by the millimeter, annual savings amount to 400 million meters.

Goods entering the sorting center require packaging, which is also a standard practice in traditional logistics. “High‑carbon” processes. In developed countries in Europe and North America, 90% of paper packaging boxes are three‑ply corrugated cartons, whereas in China, the share of three‑ply cartons is only about 40%. At JD.com, more than 95% of packaging boxes currently use three‑ply corrugated material, ensuring that each box weighs no more than 400 grams. This alone saves over 200,000 tons of pulp annually. To achieve “low carbon,” even the sealing tape has been streamlined: its width has been reduced from 53 mm to 45 mm, and clear guidelines now prohibit wrapping the tape in multiple layers. Thanks to these millimeter‑level technological innovations, JD.com cut its annual tape consumption by 400 million meters—enough to circle the Earth ten times. Meanwhile, through paperless warehouse operations and electronic waybills, JD.com reduced paper usage by 13,000 tons in 2020 alone. Low‑carbon hard technologies also abound in the packing process. A full‑chain smart packaging system, comprising 18 types of intelligent equipment—including magnetic‑levitation packers, bubble‑wrap packers, pillow‑type packers, and fold‑over‑film packers—significantly cuts down on packaging material consumption. This system bears a distinctly Chinese name—“Jingwei”—symbolizing that emission reductions must be like Jingwei’s relentless effort: bit by bit, accumulating into a vast pool, and persevering without fail. At sorting centers, all goods moving smoothly through the “small‑item sorter” are handled by automated sorting. Reportedly, this single production line boasts a designed daily capacity of nearly 500,000 orders, with operational efficiency more than ten times that of traditional manual methods.

Roof-mounted solar generation is sufficient to meet the park’s own energy needs, achieving compliant carbon emission reductions. 100% offset of residual carbon emissions

All forklifts in the park are new-energy-powered, and the park has been equipped with supporting infrastructure. Twenty-two charging stations can simultaneously charge 44 vehicles, adequately meeting the charging needs of both on-site operational vehicles and visiting guests’ vehicles.

The rooftop photovoltaic system already fully meets the facility’s own electricity needs, while the distributed lithium‑battery energy storage system enables power smoothing and regulation, mitigating grid‑system stress during peak demand periods and increasing the share of renewable energy in the campus. By adopting… Under the “self‑consumption with surplus power fed to the grid” model, photovoltaic electricity is used during the day to meet the park’s power needs, with any excess fed back into the local grid, while grid‑supplied power is utilized at night.

In the packaging‑consumables recycling area, staff are systematically sorting and collecting discarded cardboard boxes and plastic films. After being reprocessed, these recovered materials are reused for packaging—this too is part of JD.com’s operations. A component of the “Qingliu Initiative,” the low‑carbon efforts at Asia No. 1 are centered on three key areas: first, maximizing the use of on‑site renewable energy to replace conventional sources; second, continuously improving the park’s operational efficiency and level of electrification; and third, offsetting any unavoidable residual emissions through carbon‑reduction measures. Currently, the park has deployed a distributed photovoltaic power generation system on warehouse rooftops, along with energy storage solutions, enabling it to self‑neutralize a portion of its greenhouse gas emissions. The remaining emissions are fully offset—supported and guided by the Beijing Green Exchange—by purchasing compliant carbon‑reduction credits. Leveraging its strengths in “green infrastructure plus decarbonization technology innovation,” JD Group is vigorously advancing end-to-end sustainable development across green warehousing, green logistics and delivery, green packaging, and green collaboration. JD Logistics is also actively harnessing cutting‑edge technologies such as 5G, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and blockchain to drive innovation in carbon‑reduction. Meanwhile, in the logistics and transportation segment, it has deployed approximately 20,000 new‑energy vehicles covering seven major regions nationwide, while in packaging it is proactively promoting reduced‑material designs and the use of reusable courier boxes. Furthermore, JD Cloud’s next‑generation green data centers achieve green, high‑efficiency computing through the adoption of green electricity, product innovations, and proprietary technologies.

2. Prologis Baoshan Logistics Park: A Smart, Zero-Carbon Benchmark Facility

In 2022, the Prologis Shanghai Baoshan Logistics Park earned LEED v4.1 O+M: EB (Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance) Platinum certification under the U.S. green building rating system, becoming one of the few logistics facilities worldwide to achieve this highest‑level green operations certification and the largest integrated logistics park in China to do so.

• The Prologis Baoshan Logistics Park has a total floor area of 243,000 square meters. In 2021, through various carbon‑reduction measures, the park cut its annual carbon emissions by more than 2,500 tonnes.

• Thanks to the comprehensive solutions offered across multiple platforms under Prologis, the park has achieved carbon neutrality in its own operations while sharing best practices with the industry.

• Among them, Prologis’ Asset Services Platform (ASP) boasts extensive experience in park operations management and proven, effective smart‑technology solutions.

• Leverage the Haina Carbon Management System, powered by IoT, big data, artificial intelligence, and other cutting-edge technologies, to advance zero-carbon operations.

• Meanwhile, its new‑energy platform, Pufeng New Energy, has established a strong foothold in the rooftop distributed photovoltaic sector, providing green, clean energy to industrial parks and becoming one of the standard features in Prologis’ development of next‑generation smart logistics parks, industrial parks, data centers, and other infrastructure.

Smart Park Technology Operations

• The park integrates Prologis’ Asset Services Platform (ASP) standards for technology-driven operations and intelligent management. In particular, the Park Operations Management System (AMS) enables end-to-end, integrated lifecycle management of the park and its facilities and equipment.

• The park offers end-to-end services, including intelligent access control, smart security, smart fire protection, energy‑consumption management, asset management, and AI‑driven innovation, leveraging technological and digital solutions to ensure efficient operations and robust safety.

• Meteorological Cloud Early‑Warning System: An ASP‑based, custom‑developed system for logistics parks that integrates in real time with meteorological bureau alerts and connects to the Intelligent Operations Center (IOC) smart middleware platform. It enables proactive implementation of preventive measures, minimizing potential losses from typhoons, heavy rainfall, floods, and other hazards. Compared with traditional approaches to managing meteorological risks, this system significantly enhances the park’s risk‑mitigation capabilities.

• Enhanced water efficiency: Implementing “sponge city” principles and high-efficiency water-saving technologies, while establishing a rainwater harvesting system to enable reuse for irrigation.

Carbon Management System

• Provides the park with digital carbon‑accounting tools, carbon‑reduction strategies and process management, carbon‑asset management, and other services. Leveraging automated, efficient accounting, data modeling, emissions‑reduction scenario analysis, operational simulations, and optimal‑solution selection, it effectively reduces carbon intensity and operating costs, elevating carbon neutrality and sustainable development to a new, data‑driven stage that is visible, manageable, and actionable.

• Rooftop Photovoltaics: Installing rooftop solar panels provides clean energy for the park’s day-to-day operations.

• New Energy Vehicle Charging: The park provides charging services for new-energy electric vehicles, with 3,200 charging sessions per year.

• Green Lighting and a Sustainable Environment: The campus has installed 312 energy-efficient LED lights, reducing energy consumption by 50%–60% compared to traditional incandescent lamps; meanwhile, the green space covers an area of 31,000 square meters.

Innovative Incubation

• The park offers a wide array of application scenarios, collaborates with customers on innovation, and incubates, tests, and validates new business models and cutting-edge technologies. Currently, it is piloting technologies such as warehouse sorting RaaS (“Robotics-as-a-Service”), energy storage systems, cleaning robots, and drone-based inspection.

Impact

In 2021, through various carbon‑reduction measures, the park achieved a total reduction of over 2,500 tonnes of carbon emissions for the year.

• The rooftop photovoltaic power system generates 2,750 MWh of green electricity annually, equivalent to a reduction of 2,176 tonnes of carbon emissions.

• New-energy electric vehicle charging services can reduce carbon emissions by 36.9 tons annually, supporting 260,000 kilometers of green transportation.

• Energy-efficient LED green lighting can reduce carbon emissions by 57.8 tons annually.

• The park’s green vegetation can absorb approximately 45 tons of carbon emissions annually.

• By implementing “Sponge City” initiatives and other advanced water-saving technologies, municipal water consumption was reduced by approximately 3,500 tons annually.

3. China’s first “wind-solar integrated” project

Zero-Carbon Smart Logistics Park: Nike China Logistics Center, Taicang City, Jiangsu Province On September 6, the groundbreaking ceremony for Nike’s distributed wind‑power project was held at Nike’s China Logistics Center in Taicang City, Jiangsu Province. During the ceremony, Nike officially announced the launch of a distributed wind‑power initiative at its Chinese logistics hub, promoting low‑wind‑speed wind energy and zero‑carbon digital technologies. Once completed and commissioned as scheduled in early 2023, Nike’s China Logistics Center will achieve 100% renewable‑energy electricity coverage, becoming China’s first “wind‑solar integrated” zero‑carbon smart logistics park.

Nike’s China Logistics Center is the Nike Group’s largest logistics hub in Asia, with a total floor area of… Covering 260,000 square meters with an annual throughput capacity exceeding 240 million shipments, the facility has continuously minimized its environmental footprint since going into operation and undergoing expansion in 2010—through energy-efficient infrastructure, operational optimization, and sustainable product transportation. Phases I and II, as well as Phase III of the center, have respectively earned LEED Platinum and Gold certifications for green building. Currently, 45% of the center’s energy comes from a diverse portfolio of renewable sources, including solar, geothermal, and biomass. This wind‑power project will help Nike China accelerate progress toward its strategic goal of powering 100% of its owned and operated facilities with renewable energy by 2025.

This project is the first approved distributed wind power project in Taicang, Jiangsu, and also the region’s first new‑energy initiative to achieve self‑consumption of wind‑solar complementary generation with surplus power fed into the grid, overcoming numerous challenges in development, permitting, grid connection, and trading. The project will install… Two wind turbine units, each with a capacity of 3 MW, bring the total installed capacity to 6 MW. Once fully commissioned, the facility is expected to generate up to 14 million kWh of electricity annually. Nike’s zero‑carbon technology partner will provide an end‑to‑end zero‑carbon solution, integrating green energy generation and consumption, full‑lifecycle carbon management, and green‑asset trading through the intelligent IoT operating system EnOSTM and the Fangshan Energy‑Carbon Management Platform.

4. Jiaotou Logistics Jinmaoyuan Logistics Park

Jiaotou Logistics Jinmaoyuan Logistics Park is one of the key facilities where Jiaotou Group’s new‑energy business unit maximizes its operational efficiency. Daily shipment volumes here exceed With 400,000 items processed daily, more than 85% of express parcels in the main urban area are sorted here. Meanwhile, on the rooftop, over 6,800 photovoltaic solar panels continuously generate green energy, producing an average of 8,000 kilowatt-hours per day.

The 2.6 MW photovoltaic power generation system not only meets the production and operational needs of the enterprises within the park but also supplies electricity to the new‑energy vehicle charging stations. From the very outset of its development, Jinmaoyuan Park has integrated green, low‑carbon, and environmentally friendly principles, deploying distributed photovoltaic generation, ground‑source heat pumps, and other renewable energy technologies to establish an integrated energy hub, thereby achieving significant energy savings and emission reductions. After more than a year of operation, the park has reaped both economic and social benefits.

5. DB Schenker’s all-solar-powered logistics center in Dubai

DB Schenker In 2019, the first fully solar-powered logistics center was opened in Dubai, spanning an area of 33,000 square meters. The regional distribution center, DLC II, is located in Dubai’s southern logistics zone, adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport.

The Dubai logistics center is entirely powered by solar energy and forms part of DB Schenker’s network of eco-friendly warehouses. Other green warehouses are located in Singapore, Helsinki, Klagenfurt, Tilburg, and Dortmund. In addition, DB Schenker’s warehouses are gradually being transformed into… LED lighting.

The temperature-controlled new logistics center located in Dubai covers an area of 33,000 square meters, capable of accommodating 90,000 pallets, and featuring a 3,000-square-meter mezzanine floor for value-added services. The logistics center’s service portfolio encompasses warehousing—including storage of hazardous materials—various value-added services, distribution and delivery, as well as sea and air freight.

In addition, the use of electric vehicles is becoming increasingly important. For example, DB Schenker ( DB Schenker has expanded its electric vehicle fleet to the land‑transport sector and is deploying cargo bikes for last‑mile urban logistics. To reduce carbon emissions across other business units, the company has begun using sustainable aviation fuel on carbon‑neutral flights between Frankfurt and Shanghai.

Summary

Solutions for achieving carbon neutrality in logistics parks require both a strategic roadmap and core technologies. Strategically, it is essential to develop a feasible, implementable carbon‑neutral roadmap that defines clear steps, phased implementation scopes, and specific measures. This also entails precisely identifying the park’s emission sources and total emissions, enabling the design of targeted decarbonization strategies and the development of carbon‑neutral offsetting plans. Core technologies underpin the execution of these strategies and roadmaps, facilitating structural upgrades while reducing costs and enhancing efficiency, thereby balancing environmental sustainability with economic growth. Relying on… A digital carbon-neutral logistics park leveraging key technologies such as 5G, the Internet of Things, big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain is progressively advancing the logistics sector—and the broader supply chain—toward a sustainable, green, and low-carbon future. By upgrading the energy mix, continuously optimizing operational efficiency, promoting facility clustering and resource sharing, fostering circular resource utilization, and harnessing comprehensive data analytics, it contributes meaningfully to China’s efforts to achieve its “dual carbon” goals and advance sustainable development.