The Agbar Chair presents its 4th award for the best Master's thesis in Sustainable Development

Dr Toni Aira, Director of the Chair for International Studies in Institutional Communication for Development and Sustainable Growth, created by UPF Barcelona School of Management in collaboration with VEOLIA, has announced the fourth Award for the Best Master's Thesis in the field of Sustainable Development. This year's winners are Nelly Cordero and Kiara Cruz, who completed their thesis as part of the 2025-26 academic year at UPF-BSM.

The panel responsible for assessing the different theses submitted for the award, from several UPF-BSM programmes, selected Nelly and Kiara's work, entitled “Sustainable solutions for freight forwarders in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from maritime transport”.

The research examines the role that freight forwarders can play in the decarbonisation of maritime transport, a sector that is particularly important to international trade and faces significant challenges in reducing emissions. Based on a review of the international and European regulatory framework and interviews with industry professionals and experts, the thesis proposes a strategic framework with actionable measures to contribute to a transition towards more sustainable logistics.

At the award ceremony, Aira particularly highlighted the alignment between the thesis and the objectives of the Chair, noting that “the research shows that sustainability depends not only on the decisions made by major transport players, but also on the ability to coordinate, communicate with and engage all the stakeholders involved in the logistics chain”. In this regard, he emphasised that, although freight forwarders do not directly own vessels or port infrastructure, they can exert significant influence through supplier selection, route design, intermodal solutions and the decisions they communicate to their clients.

Aira also highlighted that one of the thesis's distinctive elements is its understanding of communication as a tool for advancing sustainability, rather than merely as a mechanism for transparency or accountability. Emissions measurement and communication, particularly those related to Scope 3, raising client awareness and promoting more sustainable logistics decisions are among the strategies proposed by the authors. “Better communication of environmental information enables better decision-making and can turn demand into a driver of sustainable transformation,” he noted.

The proposals included in the thesis include selecting more sustainable routes and ports, promoting intermodal solutions, optimising last-mile logistics, managing empty containers, creating partnerships with sustainable shipping companies and, particularly, measuring, managing and communicating indirect emissions. The thesis therefore advocates a systemic approach in which shipping companies, ports, freight forwarders, clients and institutions must coordinate their efforts to advance the decarbonisation of the sector.

The winners expressed their gratitude for the recognition and highlighted the importance of focusing on the role of freight forwarders as influential actors within a complex logistics chain, as well as the need to provide them with tools that can turn this influence into concrete and measurable decisions in favour of sustainability.

With its fourth edition, the Award for the Best Master's Thesis in Sustainable Development continues to pursue its objective of promoting and giving visibility to applied research addressing sustainability and/or sustainable development, directly or indirectly, and contributing to the generation of knowledge and proposals capable of having an impact on today's social, environmental and institutional challenges.