Green warehousing and sustainability in the context of the energy transition: a bibliometric analysis and literature review

This paper presents a bibliometric analysis and literature review of green warehousing (GW) within the context of sustainability and the energy transition. This study analyses 95 peer-reviewed publications from Scopus (2007–2024) to examine research trends, key themes, and methodological approaches. Using VOSviewer, the study identifies major clusters around energy efficiency, consumption, optimisation, and renewable energy use. Interest in GW has increased significantly since 2015, particularly in engineering and computer science, with substantial contributions from Italy, China, and India. While quantitative optimisation dominates, integrating decision-support tools, life cycle assessments, and interdisciplinary methods remains limited. Social science engagement is also lacking. The review calls for more empirical, practice-based research on warehouse technologies and intelligent energy systems within circular and green supply chain models. This study addresses a key gap by linking GW to energy-focused sustainability and offers a replicable framework to guide future research in the global green transition.