Williams, EricTagami, TakashiHilty, Lorenz M.Gilgen, Paul W.2019-09-162019-09-162001https://dl.gi.de/handle/20.500.12116/26745Energy use associated with distribution via e-commerce and conventional retail is compared for book sales in Japan. The simulation of energy consumption includes the following factors: fossil fuel used by trucks in distribution from distributor to bookstore or e-commerce firm, transpo rt fuel used by the consumer or courier service production of packaging, and energy for appliances and climate control at the point of sale (home or bookstore). Results indicate a crossover in environmental performance according to population density. Conventional retail uses less energy than e-commerce in dense urban areas, mainly due to avoided packaging, but can consume more in suburban and rural areas due to the inefficiency of personal automobile transpo rt.Text/Conference Paper