European Logistics: Meeting the challenge of climate change
Europe’s 3PLs and ports have been leading the way in green initiatives and rolling out related carbon measurement technologies. Our European Correspondent demonstrates just how strong that “green commitment” has become over the past year.
By Dagmar Trepins, European Correspondent -- Logistics Management, 11/1/2009
While the global logistics and transportation industry is still working on global standards for accounting and trading greenhouse gas emissions, European third-party logistics providers (3PLs) and ports have started to green their own operations. Many have introduced new products and services to provide shippers with sustainable transport and logistics options in order to help organizations better prepare for inevitable “green accounting.”
Over the next few pages we’ll look at the strong green commitment that Europe’s logistics and port industry has made over the past year. While these initiatives are only a first step on a long road, these forward-thinking service providers believe that it will lead the way to common international standards for CO2 measurement designed to make sure that “a ton of carbon is always a ton of carbon” in Europe and the U.S.
Improving carbon emission measurement and reporting
Over the past year, some of Europe’s leading logistics providers have developed a variety of tools for carbon footprint measurement, calculation, and modeling.
Damco, the logistics arm of the AP Moller-Maersk Group, has launched a graphical representation system called Supply Chain Carbon Dashboard that allows customers to keep track of their carbon footprint throughout the supply chain. According to Erling Johns Nielsen, head of Damco’s supply chain development team, the dashboard enables customers to report their carbon emissions periodically, and thus helps shippers execute their carbon strategy.
The dashboard, which is based on cargo transport distances, provides a detailed overview of carbon emissions by transport mode or by product. “It immediately allows you to identify 'carbon hotspots’ in your supply chain,” says Nielsen. Using this tool, Damco says it reduced carbon and costs by 10 percent on inbound ocean movements for Macy’s department stores.
Geodis Wilson, the global freight management company of the SNCF Geodis Group, launched its sustainable development program in 2008 that includes over 20 key indicators to manage energy, water, fuel consumption, CO2 and other emissions, as well as vehicle fleet breakdown and waste production and processing.
This year, Geodis Wilson Sweden developed a tool to measure the environmental impact of its customers’ overall transport solutions. Using statistics on cargo volume and weight, the tool can compare the level of emissions according to route and transport mode.
For example, the provider found that by sending a shipment to the U.S. from Gothenburg, Sweden, rather than from Rotterdam reduces CO2 emissions by 16 percent. As part of the program the provider sends its main customers this environmental report quarterly.
Forming green networks
Europe’s leading logistics providers are working on an intelligent modal shift to less carbon-intensive modes of transport by offering alternative transport services within their networks in combination with user-friendly IT technology.
DB Schenker, for example, has bundled its climate protection activities into four so-called lighthouse projects: Green Logistics Networks, Green Road, Green Terminals, and Green Product Rail. These are all part of DB Group’s Climate Protection Program to reduce its specific CO2 emissions by a further 20 percent worldwide between 2006 and 2020.
The lighthouse encompasses DB Schenker’s international transportation network that spans all transportation modes. Its main target is to combine the strengths of different modes to offer the customer an environmentally friendly overall product and to start with climate protection during the consulting and planning phases of any new project.
In order to determine the total CO2 emissions, DB Schenker calculates the carbon dioxide emissions for each mode of transport. The resulting CO2 footprint gives customers insight into the emissions broken down into the areas of land transport, airfreight, ocean freight, and contract logistics. At the same time, the CO2 footprint is an element of a future comprehensive ecological auditing and environmental management system that entails the auditing and regulation of all relevant environment parameters.
With its internet based application, EcoTransIT, the company offers an online tool to determine the economic efficiency as well as the ecological performance of their transports—depending on the mode of transport. EcoTransIT compares the energy consumption and CO2 and pollutant emissions of trains, trucks, ships, aircraft, and combined transport operations within Europe. Users enter the starting point and destination, as well as the category and volume of the freight being transported, in a pre-set form and immediately receive information on the best route and the related energy and emissions data.
Green transport
Europe offers a 21,750 mile congestion-free network of inland waterways connecting the major sea and inland ports with the industrial centers. For an increasing number of logistics providers, inland shipping is becoming a less carbon-intensive alternative to road transport within their sustainable programs.
For example, with GoGreen, Deutsche Post DHL’s group-wide climate protection program, the company has set the target of improving its CO2 efficiency by 30 percent by 2020—this includes outsourced transport services.
A central component of GoGreen is the provision of carbon-neutral or low-carbon logistics solutions. According to Thilo Specht, vice president of marketing and sales in Germany at DHL Global Forwarding, the company has helped its pharmaceutical customer Sanofi-Aventis reduce CO2 emissions generated by its sea freight operations by 30 percent.
DHL Global Forwarding is also migrating delivery of temperature-controlled goods for sea freight export from HGVs to inland vessels. Transporting sea freight containers by truck to European seaports currently generates emissions of approximately 73 pounds of CO2 per metric ton. By using inland waterways for these transports, the level of emissions can be reduced to around 49 pounds of CO2 per ton. Following the successful pilot phase, DHL is now shifting five container units from the roads to inland waterways each week. The containers are loaded onto barges in Mainz/Germany and transported to the western seaports of Antwerp or Rotterdam. To calculate CO2 emissions, Deutsche Post DHL has set up a carbon accounting system based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the ISO 14064 standard.
The BLG Logistics group, a leading logistics provider for the automotive industry, has also developed an environmentally friendly concept to shift transport from the streets to barges. BLG Logistics’ automotive division is running an inland shipping service for car transport with seven barges, five of which operate on the Rhine River and two on the Danube between the German terminal of Kelheim and the Port of Csepel near Budapest.
With its new 360-foot long car carrier MS Kelheim, BLG provides space for up to 260 vehicles on three decks. The integrated ramp at the bow makes it possible to transship cars regardless of the port facilities. The MS Kelheim carries Ford cars from the Kelheim terminal to Hungary, and on the return voyage her decks are filled with new Suzukis.
Environmental concerns are also part of Hamburg Süd’s corporate strategy. The company uses containers with the largest interior volume worldwide for reefer transport, which increases transport performance per container and enhances the CO2 balance. The company already uses floors made of various types of wood, although the top layer remains a hardwood. In the future, there are plans to switch to bamboo for the flooring material, as it could replace or significantly reduce the use of tropical wood.
The use of modern compressor technology in most of the fleet enables the Hamburg Süd Group to operate energy-saving reefer transport. The company offers a wide range of modified atmosphere (MA) and controlled atmosphere (CA) transport solutions for sensitive commodities previously transported by air. One example is the “coffee train” between Hamburg and Bremen, which was set up by Hamburg Süd and several partners. The train, which runs once or twice a day, replaces road transports between the Port of Hamburg and Bremen, and now carries many other commodities as well.
Sustainable port initiatives
While the logistics industry is looking for international standards and tools to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, European ports are also making great efforts to fulfill their responsibilities regarding ecologically sustainable port operations and common standards.
Close international cooperation has been established under the guidance of EcoPorts Foundation (EPF) and the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) and its World Ports Climate Initiative (WPCI).
EcoPorts Foundation, supported by European Sea Ports Organization (ESPO), is a non-profit organization established in 1999 by a group of eight leading European ports. It acts as a network platform to exchange environmentally effective solutions and to collaborate on projects addressing sustainability issues in ports and the overall supply chain. More than 150 European Ports are linked in this network that offers tools like the Ports Environmental Review System (PERS), a user-friendly first step in the development of a credible Environmental Management System.
The WPCI Carbon Footprinting Project is a work group that links European ports like Amsterdam, Antwerp, the Finnish Port Association, Oslo, and the Port of Rotterdam Authority to leading U.S. ports and IAPH in order to generate a guidance document that will serve as a reference for ports looking to determine their carbon footprint.
With the On-shore Power Supply project, another WPCI initiative, European ports are collaborating to provide docked ships with shore-side electrical power, which greatly reduces the environmental impact of vessels in ports.
Green port projects
In line with global efforts to develop and operate ports in a sustainable manner, a public-private environmental cooperation has been established in many European ports. The goal is to share knowledge and investments on green projects.
Port of Antwerp is one of the OPS members that launched a trial project with shore-based electricity this year to fight port-related air pollution. Seagoing ships belonging to the Independent Container Line (ICL) will be able to use a shore-based electricity supply when they are lying at berth. That means they will no longer have to run their polluting onboard engines to generate power.
Antwerp’s investment will have a positive impact on the environment, as it positively affects NOx, CO2, and particulate emissions. The port already provides shore power for barges, as well as for the Port Authority’s tug and dredger fleet, floating cranes, and the dry dock complex. Antwerp is moving ahead by extending this service to seagoing ships, a segment that has the most powerful effect on environmental performance.
This year the EU Commission awarded the City of Hamburg the title “European Green Capital 2011. In order to promote environmental commitment in the private sector, the City of Hamburg started a program in 2002 to support manufacturing and service companies investing in resource efficiency measures. To date, the program “Companies for Resources Protection” has supported 700 projects with a total financial value of $13 million. Among these were over 40 sustainable projects related to the port and logistics industry. One current example is a joint project of Hamburg’s local water provider and the terminal operator and logistics provider HHLA.
Waste heat is recovered from the treatment process and used to heat the new office building at the Container Terminal Tollerort (CTT). In 2009, the system will reach its full capacity and produce 3700 kW of heat. This will prevent an output of 1,000 metric tons of CO2 per year.
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Thank you for this timely post. It is encouraging to see that companies are not just talking about this, but rolling up their sleeves and getting after tangible results. It would be interesting to understand how far this is a response to customer demand (i.e. the shippers), or an initiative from the logistics industry.
Paul Gooch - 2009-18-11 05:21:12 EST
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