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Total U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Economic Sector (2020)
400 large consumer packaged goods companies to knit together network moves that improve efficiency and reduce emissions. “A broker working with one load at a time would need 19,000 customers to see the number of moves we see with just four shippers,” says Prasad. BlueGrace Logistics, a transportation management-focused third-party logistics (3PL) provider, also uses proprietary technology to reduce GHG emissions by eliminating empty legs and optimizing loads, among other things. In addition to stressing the importance of the network size it can achieve as one of the largest 3PLs in the United States, “You also need to have a unification point for the different parties in your network to work within,” says Azad Ratzki, the company’s chief technology officer. With visibility into both shipper and carrier systems, BlueGrace is positioned to maximize efficiency. “Because multiple parties come to us, we’re able to view both sides of the coin and optimize how goods are delivered,” Ratzki says. “We can eliminate a leg of the journey or any number of stops and make sure that transportation is fully used,” he adds. “If shippers or carriers were doing it separately, they would have a much larger environmental footprint.” In addition to reducing emissions by optimizing over-the-road loads, there are opportunities to reduce the number of empty containers returning from railyards to steamship lines at ports. Blume Global’s Street Turns solution matches empty containers with loads that take them closer to their final port destination. In the process, it maximizes driver time and asset use while reducing fuel consumption and carbon emissions. Once again, network size is key. “You can’t do it alone,” says Jerome Roberts, vice president of product marketing at Blume Global. “The information about asset availability requires a network with
The transportation sector generates the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation primarily come from burning fossil fuel for cars, trucks, ships, trains, and planes. Over 90% of the fuel used for transportation is petroleum based, which includes primarily gasoline and diesel.
Agriculture 11%
Transportation 27%
Commercial & Residential 13%
Industry 24%
Electricity 25%
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2022). Inventory of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and sinks: 1990-2020
“It’s part of the roadmap we use to continue to give our shipper and carrier partners even more details about their CO2 impact and the efficiencies that we’re helping them drive,” says Christian Lee, chief financial officer. “It also highlights the commitments we’re making to continue to invest in the calculations that help shippers understand their carbon footprint and reduce those empty miles,” he adds. These types of progressive logistics partners that are helping shippers and carriers meet their sustainability goals are also turning inward to reduce their own carbon footprint. In addition to providing tools and services that help its customers meet their sustainability goals, DHL has a number of its own sustainability goals and initiatives in place. These goals include carbon-neutral warehousing
connectivity to make efficiency and transportation sustainability happen.” Blume Global’s relationships with Class 1 railroads—the company provides the platform they use to manage their entire asset management and reservation process—helps facilitate that. In addition to using its technology to help shippers and carriers reach their sustainability goals and improve reliability, digital freight marketplace provider Transfix also documents shipper and carrier progress in its first ESG report. Released this year, the 40-page document details how Transfix technology is helping to eliminate inefficiencies and subsequently, GHG emissions. It also reports on progress Transfix is making toward its own ESG goals.
38 Inbound Logistics • June 2022
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