Sustainability in the Logistics Sector Beyond Firm-Level Strategies: Macroeconomic Constraints in Central and Eastern Europe

Sustainable development is currently a key challenge for the logistics sector. This sector is an essential part of economic activity, supporting production and distribution processes and contributing to environmental pressures. In the literature, sustainability in logistics is analysed in terms of decisions made by company managers, with the dominant context being innovation, regulation, and financial conditions. This study aims to investigate sustainability in logistics as a process that goes beyond corporate strategy and is deeply embedded in the macroeconomic context of development in Central and Eastern Europe. The study contributes to the economic literature by conceptualising sustainable logistics as a context-dependent and structurally constrained process. The article is qualitative and conceptual. The study utilises literature analysis and desk research, supplemented by the interpretive application of PESTEL, SWOT, and TOWS tools. These tools were used to organise key macroeconomic conditions and identify the central tensions affecting the implementation of sustainability activities in logistics. The analysis indicates a discrepancy between growing regulatory and market requirements and logistics companies' ability to achieve long-term transformation amid macroeconomic instability. The article's conclusions emphasise the need to consider the macroeconomic context when assessing the realistic possibilities for sustainable development of the logistics sector in the region