Green logistics: a glimpse of the present and the future

A glimpse at the carbon footprint demonstrates that the transport sector bears a huge responsibility for the consumption of natural resources and emissions of gases that are harmful to our climate. A study conducted by Statista forecasts that international road transport operations will emit almost 4.5 billion tonnes of CO₂ in 2050. Ocean freight (2.6 million tonnes) and air cargo (762 million tonnes of CO₂) in particular will contribute to a drastic increase in greenhouse gas emissions, according to this forecast. This represents a huge challenge in the light of the process of climate change, which is already well-advanced. However, it is also a task that logistics specialists are facing up to, with modern climate concepts for using resources carefully and actions that are designed to promote natural regeneration. The goal is to have “green logistics” operations, which not only do business in the spirit of climate protection, but also assume corporate responsibility.

The issue of sustainability should be considered from a long-term perspective so that firms are able to continually improve their operations in terms of reducing their own CO₂ emissions and creating sustainable transport and supply chains for clients. Decarbonisation plays an important role here so that companies can satisfy clients’ demands for logistics services that are carbon-neutral in the long term. Logistics specialists are therefore relying on renewable energy sources, alternative drive systems and multimodal transport solutions so that their business operations save resources in the different business fields – ranging from warehousing to air and ocean freight and even road transport services.

The aviation industry is also planning to reduce its ecological footprint – for example, as part of the Fly Net Zero system. This is the target that has been set by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) or its member airlines, so that they become carbon-neutral by 2050. This commitment matches the Paris Agreement, which seeks to restrict global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. However, how can this be achieved? Firstly, by reducing the consumption of fossil fuels and, secondly, by using Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) as an alternative to fossil kerosene. SAF, for example, includes bio-kerosene, which can be manufactured from biomass, wood residue, waste materials, fats and waste oil. The challenge here is to ensure that it is possible to use bio-fuel with the jet engines that are currently in service – and that is hard to guarantee, given that aircraft have a service life of about 30 years. It is therefore not always possible to completely replace traditional kerosene at this time. By using the HEFA (Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids) production method, sustainable fuels can account for at least up to 50 percent of the kerosene that is being consumed. As a first step in this direction, one logistics specialist with international business operations is offering its clients a programme through which they can transport their consignments on more environmentally friendly aircraft, which are planes that consume less fuel, on particular routes.

Electric aircraft are a much longer-term – or rather futuristic – concept. Electricity, provided that it is green electricity, offers many benefits in contrast to fossil sources of energy: quiet engines, no greenhouse gas emissions if green electricity is being used, and low-cost energy if it is generated using solar panels. This possibility has so far been fairly unrealistic because of the range and weight of the batteries, but it is becoming increasingly practical because new technologies are being used – for example, thanks to initial pilot projects such as Solar Impulse 2, a solar plane that flew around the world in 2016. It will, however, be some time before these kinds of propulsion systems can be used for wide-bodied aircraft and therefore become interesting for the world of logistics. Fortunately, logistics specialists can make their air freight services more sustainable by using various possibilities on the ground. E-mobility has long since become an integral part of airport operations, for instance for handling and transhipping goods internally. Ecological and lighter packaging materials such as cardboard runners, which are used as an aid when making air freight pallets, are also contributing to more environmentally friendly logistics services.

Regardless of which means of transport is involved, it is clear that sustainability has now become an essential feature of concepts in all the divisions of logistics and has even become an integral part of many firms’ corporate philosophies. How quickly and how extensively the goals of decarbonisation and carbon neutrality can be achieved will partly depend on technological advances and future innovations. However, the initial steps such as e-mobility and other alternative drive technologies already demonstrate that sustainable and efficient business activities are not mutually exclusive. The latest projects and initiatives provide examples of “green” logistics operations that are efficient and assume responsibility for future generations.