How a TMS can help respond to various environmental challenges.

Negative externalities on the environment and the international transport chain. The TMS’ response to the challenges of flow knowledge and management.

Air pollution, noise pollution, congestion and the various modes of freight transport (primarily road transport) contribute significantly to the “negative externalities” on the environment. While total greenhouse gas emissions in France decreased between 1990 and 2012, transport emissions increased sharply between 1990 and 2004 (+19%) and then decreased. In France, transport accounts for a third, or 32%, of CO2 emissions. A figure that authorities, shippers and carriers intend to reduce by 2020 with innovative initiatives and support tools.

Authorities are rallying

France is working to establish a robust and sustainable energy model via the Energy Transition Act of August 17, 2015. Faced with the challenges of energy procurement, price trends, resource depletion and environmental protection requirements, the law sets objectives including:

• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% between 1990 and 2030;
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions fourfold between 1990 and 2050;
• Cutting final energy consumption in half by 2050 compared to the 2012 baseline.

To meet these objectives, contributors of CO2 emissions, such as third-party transport professionals, must find ways to reduce their emissions. They are therefore mobilizing through various initiatives.

Active carriers

On May 18, 2016, the Ministry of the Environment, Energy and the Sea, in collaboration with ADEME, AFT and the sector’s professional organizations (FNTR, FNTV, OTRE, TLF and UNOSTRA), officially launched the “Objectif CO2” program and the “Objectif CO2” label. Their ambitions? To reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve the energy efficiency of road transport. How? By providing companies with tools and methodology to assess their GHG emissions, define a three-year reduction action plan and meet numerous regulatory constraints.

Raising shippers’ awareness

Customers also have regulatory obligations relating to transport. They must report all information related to environmental protection in their CSR reports. And to encourage them to integrate the impact of transport into their sustainable development strategy more effectively, an initiative called Fret21 has just been launched. It encourages companies, which volunteer to take part, to sign an agreement with ADEME that sets a target for reducing CO2 emissions, and undertake to take action to achieve it. By 2020, 1,000 companies could commit to the approach and thus generate 0.4 million metric tons in CO2 savings, making it possible to achieve a significant part of the expected reduction efforts to bring transport emissions back to 1990 levels by 2020.

Support tools

Shippers and carriers have transport management solutions, such as those offered by DDS Logistics, to find out the precise impact of their transport activities on the environment. These tools enable them to respond to all the regulations governing the subject, in different ways :

• Data production

The companies must include objective data in their CSR reports. To produce this, they must therefore benefit from real transport input data upstream. A TMS solution is capable of handling transport control information data very accurately, for all international flows. In this way, all transport flows are traced and detailed operational data reflect reality as close as possible.

• Optimization

A TMS’ primary objective is to optimize flows. And when you talk about optimization, you’re also talking about sharing flows. Sharing creates several environmental benefits such as improved utilization rates and, with that, a reduction in the number of trucks on the roads, thus reducing noise pollution, visual nuisances and GHG emissions. Regarding this last point, DDS Logistics has also implemented a calculator to meet the GHG emission information disclosure obligations for commercial transport services.

• Innovation

For there to be short circuits, urban logistics and inter-company collaboration, these emerging models need data. Therefore, DDS Logistics is positioning itself as a data producer that feeds into these new virtuous models and helps bring them into existence. In particular, it has been offering tools such as Join2ship for a few months now. Join2ship has management and appointment scheduling features, to optimize rounds and reduce empty transport containers.

Far from being a mere passing fad, taking into account the environmental impact of transport is the responsibility of all players in the sector, whether they be carriers or shippers. Aware of the need to act, DDS Logistics supports them in their move towards a more virtuous and environmentally friendly system while helping them optimize their daily activities.

Tribune libre, Nicolas Rogier