The environmental impact of distribution to retail channels: A case study on packaged beverages

•The study quantified the environmental impacts of retail distribution network.•The environmental impact of replenishing the packaged beverages sold in stores are assessed.•The environmental impact of transporting beverages to Carrefour and 7-11 stores is different.•The study offers consumers a retail channel that is more beneficial to the environment. This study aims to quantify the environmental impact of two retail distribution networks and offer consumers a channel that is more beneficial to the environment. The environmental impact of replenishing the packaged beverages sold in convenience stores (CVSs) and hypermarkets is assessed using the streamlined life-cycle assessment (LCA) approach. In this study, the life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA) for packaged beverages up to the point of sale illustrates the distribution-level environmental impacts of truck transportation. The matched-pair t-test shows that the environmental impacts of transporting 1800cartons of 24-pack/10oz. beverages to be sold in Carrefour and 7-11 stores is different at a significance level of 0.1. The transport-focused LCA is used to improve the understanding and compare the environmental characteristics of the two distribution and retail systems. This study constitutes a vehicle for communicating to both internal and external stakeholders the environmental profiles of distributing the same product sold through two retail channels.