Green Transportation Acceptance and Carbon Footprint Reduction in Supply Chain Logistics

Abstract

Road transport is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in modern supply chains, yet surprisingly little is known about why individual logistics workers respond to their carbon footprint the way they do especially in Malaysia. This study explores how three factors which are awareness of carbon footprint, transportation habits, and perception and acceptance of green transportation in shaping the transportation-related carbon footprint among road transport users in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the study adopted a quantitative cross-sectional design. Data were gathered from 108 respondents using a structured five-point Likert-scale questionnaire and analysed through descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression in IBM SPSS Statistics. All constructs showed good internal reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.773–0.864). Correlation results showed that awareness of carbon footprint (r = 0.565, p < 0.001) and transportation habits (r = 0.516, p < 0.001) had moderate positive relationships with carbon footprint, while green transportation acceptance showed a weaker but significant link (r = 0.229, p = 0.015). Regression analysis identified awareness (β = 0.413, p < 0.001) and transportation habits (β = 0.300, p = 0.003) as the two significant predictors, together explaining 37.2% of the variance (R² = 0.372, F(3, 104) = 21.565, p < 0.001). Green transportation acceptance did not independently predict carbon footprint (β = −0.047, p = 0.598) once the other variables were accounted for. These results highlight how deeply awareness and ingrained travel behaviour influence the carbon footprint of logistics workers, and point to practical steps — including targeted education campaigns and infrastructure investment — that policymakers and logistics managers can take to reduce supply chain emissions in Malaysia.