11 Tips for Transport Companies to Reduce Their Carbon Footprint
The transport industry is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Everything from delivery vans to long-haul trailers to air and sea freight adds to the daily CO2 emissions that adversely affect the environment. Fortunately, mindful business owners can set up their shipping companies and logistic networks to offset their carbon footprint and lower it through various effective strategies. The following tips can give you an idea of what to do.
Tip No. 1 – Recycle
Recycling is one of the easiest and most efficient ways to reduce a shipping company’s carbon footprint. Transporters may go through many raw materials and perishables. Running recycling collections in warehouses, lots, and offices can help lower the carbon footprint.
With more people being generally pro-recycling, it’s up to business owners to offer the means for them to do it.
Tip No. 2 – Work With Sustainable Suppliers
Transport companies can make efforts to minimise their impact on the environment. For example, take a look at this car shipping company’s effort to reduce carbon footprint emissions.
That’s a step in the right direction. It’s also worth noting that measuring your actual carbon footprint isn’t easy.
Sometimes choosing the right suppliers to work with is a key step in reducing a company’s carbon footprint. Synergistically, it may have an even more significant environmental impact.
Tip No. 3 – Use Hybrid or Electric Vehicles
Switching to hybrid and fully electric vehicles isn’t always an option for transport companies. The majority of efficient hybrid and electric vehicles are passenger cars, not trucks or trailers. However, adding a few environmentally friendly cars to the shipping fleet is a good idea. Many hybrid and electric vehicles can ship smaller packages and cargo or pull small trailers.
Trading diesel company cars for electric vehicles also helps reduce the overall carbon footprint of a shipping company. With electric cars being widely available these days, adding a few to the transport fleet or company car list should be easy enough.
Tip No. 4 – Have More Online Meetings
The transportation industry relies a lot on face-to-face meetings with customers. Shipping companies may need to assess the cargo in person to determine what trailer to use, how much it will cost, allocate special loading equipment and packaging needs, etc.
Video conferencing is making it easier to conduct virtual meetings. Reducing the carbon footprint can come down to something as simple as incorporating more online meetings. Shipping companies can use various software solutions like Slack, Zoom, Skype, and others to communicate with customers, logistics partners, drivers, and staff.
Whether it’s team meetings, customer quotes, or other activities, more time in the office and less time driving reduces CO2 emissions.
Tip No. 5 – Invest in Green Equipment and Energy Solutions
Having renewable energy sources or using green energy solutions will reduce the carbon footprint of any office space. Investing in green equipment or less power-hungry electronics is an easy way to make a physical workplace less harmful to the environment.
Examples of such equipment can include everything from solar panels to LED lighting to ENERGY STAR appliances.
Tip No. 6 – Invest in Used Furniture and Equipment
Few business owners realise that buying new equipment and office furniture increases their company’s carbon footprint. New products often come from harvesting and processing new natural resources. Manufacturing these goods wastes energy and contributes to an increase in greenhouse gases.
But used furniture and equipment no longer harm the environment.
Alternatively, you could buy what you need in the form of refurbished equipment or furniture made from recycled materials.
Tip No. 7 – Optimise Route Planning
Route planning is one of the greatest logistics challenges. Optimising routes, whether on land or sea, is an efficient carbon footprint reduction strategy.
Shippers can be more environmentally friendly by saving time and reducing fuel consumption due to taking an optimal path from point A to point B.
Tip No. 8 – Increase Vehicle Efficiency
If electric vehicles aren’t a feasible option for your shipping company, you have alternatives to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. For example, drivers can avoid speeding to minimise fuel consumption, especially over long distances.
Driving with optimal tire pressure is an easy way to get more mileage out of a vehicle. Proper maintenance can ensure all vehicles are calibrated for the task at hand.
Tip No. 9 – Maximise Cargo Space
Not maximising cargo space for the sake of speedy deliveries causes transport companies to make more trips than necessary. This leads to additional fuel consumption and higher emissions.
Maximising the cargo space for truck and sea freight deliveries is a sign of an environmentally conscious company that cares about its impact.
Tip No. 10 – Plant Trees
Reducing the carbon footprint isn’t always a matter of making sacrifices or expensive investments in green solutions. Shipping companies can reduce their negative impact on the environment by participating in biodiversity programs.
For instance, planting trees helps offset carbon emissions by ensuring more trees are around to sequester carbon dioxide. Even better, you can do this anywhere in the world without direct physical involvement through a variety of organisations.
Tip No. 11 – Mind Your Business Trips
Business trips may still come up from time to time. Some trips are made to establish new connections, others to buy equipment, give quotes, etc. But business trips can also increase a company’s carbon footprint.
Flying or driving gasoline or diesel-powered company cars contributes to a business’s overall emissions. Using public transport or car-sharing services can help reduce the carbon footprint. When possible, avoiding single-passenger trips is key to being more environmentally friendly.
Be a Trendsetter
The more you learn about your company’s carbon footprint, the easier it is to develop new strategies to lower or offset it for the good of the environment. That will make your company a positive force and a more attractive option for environmentally conscious customers and shipping partners.
Remember that offsetting isn’t always enough, especially for transport companies with years of operational experience. Multiple strategies are necessary to become a net-zero emissions business.
IoSCM is delighted to introduce The Sustain Chain. A new initiative to address the environmental and economic impact of industry on our planet, find ways to mitigate the damage and create a sustainable future via the magazine and toolkit. Once you visit the Toolkit, you can apply for The Sustain Chain Accreditation or Awards to enable you to demonstrate the achievements of your business or celebrate the successes that have already taken place within industries across the globe.