How green, logistics?
Green logistics in demand – implementation a bumpy road though.
A study presented by the consultancy Simon-Kucher&Partner goes beyond a banal question – ‘who pays?’ – to show that the discussion about the ways forward for green logistics has been rather superficial so far, in terms of assessing green logistics’ possibilities and implementation. Government legislation could become a driver of development.
In August this year Simon-Kucher&Partner (SKP), a strategy and marketing consultancy based in the former German capital Bonn, conducted a B2B survey of 100 enterprises in Europe that worked with a logistics services providers. The overall message is rounded off by these shippers’ statements, as the results were also integrated into SKP’s latest ‘green logistics’ study.
The results of the analysis show that a majority of the shippers surveyed considers the topic of sustainability to be very important – namely 55%. The extent to which the subject is prioritised varies significantly from Central Europe (64%) to Southern Europe (55%) and Western Europe (44%).
Enthusiasm amongst logistics services providers is significantly lower. Only 31% of the firms consider the topic to be very important, on average. 34% do so in Central Europe, 36% in Southern Europe, and 25% in Western Europe. It’s true though that many logistics companies do at least set themselves ‘concrete emissions targets’, according to Kornelia Reifenberg, a partner for logistics at SKP.
“We didn’t ascertain any concrete monetary commitments in the industry to go hand in hand with such targets, however. In the end it remains largely unclear as to who’s expected to pay.” So when it comes to the purse strings, everyone involved in the transport and logistics sector is continuing to keep a low profile.
Shippers versus logistics providers
Users and players in the sector are only at the beginning of a long and arduous road. What’s needed, essentially, to develop a sustainable logistics product, in addition to emission targets, are appropriate instruments, the right choice of products, a communications strategy and – last but not least – a pricing strategy.
According to the study most respondents look first at their own direct and indirect emissions. Compensation solutions for emissions have also been a means chosen so far – instead of direct measures.
The study shows that respondents don’t yet have a clear preference when choosing possible measures. 28% of the respondents rate the avoidance of emissions as the most important component, but compensation measures (20%) or even so-called ‘greenwashing’ through certificate trading (20%) are almost on a par in the evaluation.
Reifenberg concludes that “against this background it’s rather questionable whether the market is really ready for cost-intensive but truly climate-neutral logistics, such as the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in airfreight, for example.”
New customers needed
SKP doesn’t believe logistics providers are to blame, however. “The key question is whether the users of logistics services are willing to pay higher prices for greener logistics in future. If not, then governments will have to tighten the concomitant regulations. In any case, pricing any new costs in will hardly be possible in logistics,” Reifenberg closed. Any blessings for the environment may well have to come from above.