Heleen Buldeo Rai

Heleen Buldeo Rai is a postdoctoral researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel's House of Sustainable Transitions and Business Technology and Operations department. Her work focuses on sustainable urban logistics, e-commerce impacts, and policy design for zero-emission freight systems. She leads projects like Shift2Zero (EU-funded) and CodeZERO, addressing last-mile delivery sustainability and stakeholder collaboration.

Research Interests:

• Urban freight transport optimization
• E-commerce environmental impacts
• Proximity logistics and urban planning integration
• Consumer behavior in sustainable delivery systems
• Policy frameworks for zero-emission logistics

Awards:

• Outstanding Paper Award (2019)
• PIM Marketingliteratuurprijs - de 'Bewustmaker' (2022)

Grants & Projects (Selected):

• Shift2Zero (2025–2028): Zero-emission logistics via N1 eLCVs
• CodeZERO (2024–2027): Sustainable e-commerce last-mile solutions
• House of Sustainable Transitions (2024–2028): Cross-disciplinary sustainability research

Labs/Teams: Active in the House of Sustainable Transitions, focusing on logistics-society-environment intersections.