Logistics Firms Should Collaborate on Green Strategies

The logistics market sector accounts for over 5% of all greenhouse gas emissions, and it's time that the industry as a whole got together to develop global guidelines for sustainable logistics services, says John Pattullo, CEO of CEVA Logistics, a third-party logistics provider.

"In recent years many countries have issued environmental legislation targeting businesses,” Pattullo says. “However, following Copenhagen, we still have no global agreement or clear global targets. Since consistent state regulations are not to be expected anytime soon, all those involved within logistics need to work collectively to develop globally accepted regulations."

Speaking at a recent logistics conference in Berlin, Germany, Pattullo highlighted that the complex network of regulations is currently an obstacle for logistics companies in establishing a sustainable supply chain. Voluntary agreements to reduce emissions are only active in some regions of the world and the logistics industry would therefore clearly benefit from cooperation with competitors, peers and customers to develop consistent global guidelines for a sustainable supply chain management.

"Sustainable logistics is not necessarily a management top priority, and in today’s economy, many customers are unwilling to pay a premium for green transport. Despite these obstacles the logistics industry must support change towards sustainable services."

A founding member of the Alliance for European Logistics (AEL), CEVA is currently working collectively with other global players and policy makers to develop consistent regulations for the transport and logistics sector. The initiative is financing research and transport related efforts to effectively and efficiently reduce CO2 emissions.

"In the recent past we were able to considerably improve the achievements of our customers through green procurement and innovative solutions along the entire supply chain,” Pattullo points out, adding that CEVA plans to increase the measurement of CO2 consumption at the base level.

Source: http://logisticstoday.com/