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  • CO2 emissions from the various modes of transport (see text).

24.02.2021 By: Andreas Haug


Artikel Nummer: 35297

Small firms are key

The EU wants to reduce the transport industry’s CO2 emissions by 90% by 2050. The key to attaining this goal is on the roads –HGV services account for one fifth of total emissions. A study now makes the way forward clear.


 

 

Small operators account for 99% of all companies active in the European road haulage system, so they play a key role for the reduction of CO2 emissions, which every­one – from governments through to shippers and logistics service providers – now considers absolutely essential.

 

Now small enterprises have been called upon to fortify their efforts for a greener supply chain. This state of affairs has been confirmed by a study presented by the Smart Freight Centre (SFC) from Amsterdam and the Centre for Sustainable Logistics and Supply Chains (CSLS), at Hamburg’s Kühne Logistics University.

 

It is one of the first studies addressing the decarbonisation potential of small and medium-sized forwarders in ­Europe. It is based on data, rendered anonymous, from more than 800 freight forwarders from 32 European countries. The data was provided by the ­international logistics platform Transporeon.

 

 

The significance is clear

The study states that a vast majority of forwarders are aware of the overarching importance of the decarbonisation of the road haulage industry. But firms with larger fleets are in a better position to take concrete steps to lower the CO2 emissions caused by transport services.

 

Most forwarders with less than 20 lorries in their fleets or less than 50 employees on their books, in contrast, currently only see a small business advantage in active decarbonisation – or none at all.

 

The hurdles for transport enterprises, according to the study, include the concomitant costs, uncertain demand from their clients for measures to reduce emissions, and opaque new energy technologies.

43% of all forwarders aren’t able to calculate their CO2 emissions, for example. Operational or technical measures to save fuel are often not known well enough – or aren’t implemented at all. This represents a large unused savings potential – both in terms of forwarders’ costs as well as of overall CO2 emissions.

 

 

Looking to the future

European road haulage operations are expected to grow by almost 50% by the year 2050. A series of supporting mea­sures as well as incentives to act are thus absolutely essential from a large number of stakeholders in the industry. “More than half a million small and medium-sized forwarders have to be encouraged to switch to low-emissions lorries and to run their existing diesel units more energy-­efficiently until then,” says professor Alan McKinnon of the CSLS, one of the co-authors of the study.

 

Eszter Toth-Weedon, a senior partner­ship manager at the SFC, believes ideas need to be exchanged first. “Road ­hauliers, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, need support from their customers, from vehicle manufacturers, and from political decision-makers, to be able to ensure efficient decarbonisation – sooner rather than later.”   

 

 

Graph: The way CO2 emissions from the various modes of transport have developed – without measures, with already agreed measures, and with further measures.