Two prominent Flemish regional media outlets, VRT News and Het Laatste Nieuws, have published articles showcasing the work carried out by GREEN-LOG in Mechelen and its results.

VRT News, Flanders’ public broadcasting agency, published the article “Mechelen experimenteert met alternatieve pakjesleveringen: ‘20 procent minder bestelwagens’” (“Mechelen experiments with alternative parcel deliveries: ‘20 percent fewer vans’”) [link].

Het Laatste Nieuws, a digital newspaper reaching over 2 million daily readers, featured the story in their article “Test met cityhub en cargofiets voor pakjesbelevering reduceert verkeer: “Liefst 21% minder bestelwagens in de wijk”” (“Test with city hub and cargo bike for parcel delivery reduces traffic: “No less than 21% fewer vans in the district””) [link].

Mechelen is one of three cities — alongside Leuven and Ghent — participating in the Flanders Living Lab. With plans to introduce low- and zero-emission zones for urban freight, the city is eager to explore ways to make logistics more sustainable and efficient. As part of the project’s first demonstration phase, 60 residents from Mechelen’s Tervuren district participated in a 3-month pilot. Their online purchases were delivered to a central CityHub, where they could choose from various delivery options via the Logistics-as-a-Service (LaaS) platform. The goal was to maximize delivery bundling, reducing vehicle movements and kilometers traveled.

The articles highlighted the pilot’s success, noting a 21% reduction in van traffic thanks to bundled neighborhood deliveries and shared time slots. This, combined with centralised package collection and eco-friendly transport by cargo bikes, leads to lower emissions and reduced nuisance for residents. The overwhelmingly positive response from participants suggests the approach’s scalability, with Mechelen now exploring future collaborations with local and national logistics players.