CIFFA Forwarder Spring 2025

6 THE FORWARDER | SPRING 2025 By Ian Putzger Sustainability goals have been receding into the future. In recent months many large companies, from airlines to retailers and banks, have rowed back from their emissions reduction targets for 2030, although they maintained their pledges for carbon-neutral operations by 2050. It seems that for the logistics sector, even 2050 may be an elusive target. According to the European Environment Agency, logistics will account for up to 40 percent of global CO 2 emissions by that year unless changes are implemented. The new administration in Washington was quick to dismantle sustainability funding programs of its predecessor, but Ottawa remains committed to its net zero goal for 2050. The first set of courses was oversubscribed, indicating strong interest in the issue from across the spectrum of industry. Moreover, pursuing emissions reduction is good business sense, she remarked. Without a doubt there is a need for signposts in a landscape of standards and frameworks that is dense and cluttered, leaving many confused where to begin. There have been over 600 different standards and guidelines since the first standard appeared in 1997. Logistics firms brandish a broad array of badges and certificates on their emissions reduction credentials. As recent developments have shown, commitments to emissions targets carry little weight, as they may get pulled back or quietly abandoned for a variety of reasons. Environmental interest groups that engage with industry about emissions find little merit in green programs if there is no improvement in a company’s carbon footprint. “Ultimately it comes down to numbers, not certifications,” says Jonathan Butler, corporate campaign manager at San Francisco-based Pacific Environment. Emissions calculators are becoming readily available. Last year CIFFA installed the Freight Emissions Calculator from Pledge on its website to give members an opportunity to trial its technology to measure and reduce emissions free of charge. The calculator’s measurement engine is accredited by the Smart Freight Centre for conformance with the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) framework and covers all modes of freight transport. Other organisations that have partnered with Pledge include DP World and the World Cargo Alliance. GLEC provides a set of guidelines for the methodology for calculating and reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It covers all modes for calculations from basic to more granular levels and is regularly updated to capture evolving regulations and requirements. “There has been a lot of discussion if the data is good enough It is good enough,” says Kathrin Brost, global head GoGreen at DHL Global Forwarding. Essentially there are two approaches to reducing GHG emissions – aiming to burn less CO2 through supply chain optimization, and burning clean through use of compliant technology and/or low emission fuel options, she says. According to technology solutions provider Epicor, supply chain optimization will get a boost from the deployment of AI, which can pinpoint emissions hotspots, automate tailored reports, visualisations and dashboards to help with compliance. Eventually, however, companies will reach a level of maximum optimization of their supply chain and processes, remarks Brost. While carriers have taken steps to reduce emissions in their warehouses and yards, these gains are negligible compared to the operation of their vehicles. At the extreme end, 99 percent of an airfreight carrier’s carbon footprint is flying. Hence, meaningful progress in GHG reduction can only be made in carriers’ fleets – by bringing in green technology or burning green fuels. The high upfront cost of most sustainable technologies, combined with their usually slower return on investment, means that their adoption is headed by larger operators, at least in the initial stage. Electric propulsion has made some headway on the roads, but it is only in the initial stage in ocean transport (Chinese carrier COSCO introduced two battery-powered box ships with a capacity of 700 teu in late 2023) and at the conceptual stage in air cargo. While there are some projects for the introduction of small electric cargo planes, battery-powered large widebody freighters are widely seen to be decades away – if at all feasible, as the weight of a suitable battery would seriously impact payload capabilities. Hence, much of the improvement in technology to reduce emissions in international longhaul traffic has come from the deployment of more modern jets and ships with better fuel efficiency and the use of alternative fuels, although the latter remain at a low percentage of overall fuel burn. The limited availability of eco-fuels has revived the fortunes of liquid natural gas (LNG), but this is still a fossil fuel and therefore seen as a transition solution until green fuels can be scaled up to necessary levels. On the roads the advance of electric trucks has been hamstrung by their higher acquisition cost and limited range compared to diesel-powered models. Arguably an even bigger obstacle is the lack of a comprehensive charging infrastructure. While local operators like parcel delivery companies can charge their vehicles overnight at their depots, this option does not exist for longhaul trucking. Moreover, charging infrastructure is expensive. Brost points out that a charger costs around 120,000 euros (C$187,740). “You will not invest in an e-truck if you can’t charge it,” she remarks. Getting to grips with emissions