What is the environmental impact of your shipments?
Does the weight of your freight affect environmental pollution?
Do you know how to protect your shipments and the environment by choosing the best freight forwarding option?
How a digital freight forwarder such as Haulystic Innovations, can help you with the transportation of your products by raising all the environmental issues?
In this article we will give answers to all these questions and to many more, so you can be informed and able to make the best supply chain plan for your business.
Climate change is here and we have to protect our small blue planet from degradation. In the last decades, human processes have created a huge and irreversible impact on the environment with the most significant one, being the rising of sea level.
Many coastal areas across the globe have sunk or are expected to sink in the next 50 years, leading their residents to evacuate and move closer to the mainland. In the last decades, there has been a huge movement by governments and environmental organisations to raise awareness and establish regulations to ensure the protection of the environment. More specifically, many practises to reduce the Green House Gas emissions have been signed among the leaders of the world in the past years.
Freight forwarding is an industry closely related to the environment, as the modes used for transportation create a direct environmental impact. Air, sea, road and rail transport leak Green House Gas Emissions to the atmosphere, making it necessary for all of us to take rapid actions.
Air Freight
Shipping products by air can contribute to the overall climate change in different ways. The aircrafts while landing and taking off, emit carbon to the atmosphere causing global warming and air pollution. Moreover, emissions during flight further contribute to global warming and aircrafts on land cause noise pollution, air pollution and congestion.
Using air transport for your products can have an effect on the environment that depends on various factors such as altitude, weight of freight, size and type of aircraft and the distance of the journey. In general, the amount of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) is higher at higher altitudes.
However, the UK’s government has addressed the need for regulations to be set that protect the environment not only from the GHG emissions but also from the total environmental impact of aviation. A 2015 report showed that aircraft could create 43 Gigatons (Gt) of carbon pollution by 2050, with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimating that by that year, aviation will be responsible for 5% of anthropogenic pollution in the best-case scenario and 15% in the worst scenario. Only in the European Union, GHG emissions from aircrafts showed an increase equivalent to 87% between 1990 and 2006. This is why many countries such as UK, France and the Netherlands have even implemented a departure tax that accounts for the external effects of aviation.
We can all take small actions to reduce the overall emissions to the environment making our planet safer and a better place to live in. Working closely with a freight forwarder can help you and your business make optimal decisions for your goods, while taking care of the environment.
Sea Freight
Sea transport on the other hand, accounts for more than 50% of the volume of goods transported in the world with more than 6000 ships used for shipping products. Until the mid-20th century many oil discharges at oceans demanded for a proper approach to this situation, making the formation of what later became the International Maritime Organization (IMO), an absolute necessity.
Sea freight has a significantly smaller contribution to climate change than air freight, road freight and rail freight. In particular, it is estimated that, for every kilometre that a container carries a ton of cargo, it emits up to 40 times less carbon dioxide than an aircraft and 3 times less than a heavy truck. Further, sea transport is supposed to be over 2.5 times more fuel efficient than rail transport.
In addition, studies showed that one ton of cargo per gallon of fuel travels 500 miles by sea compared to 60 miles moved by road while reducing congestion with 400 vehicles removed from the roads per one sailing due to vessel size. Sea freight forwarding is one of the safest modes of transport and it produces little noise and air pollution.
Between the years 2007 and 2012, studies showed a 10% decrease of GHG emissions from international shipping. Nevertheless, IMO decided in 2016, to create a strategy that will further reduce the GHG emissions of sea transport in the short, medium and long term. There are many viable and efficient ways to reduce GHG emissions including the use of larger and more efficient vessels, new technologies that minimize the fuel consumption and the change of routes. For instance, if you are moving your products from Rotterdam in the Netherlands to Yokohama in Japan by taking the Northern sea route passing through the Arctic region, the distance will be shortened by 40% compared to the route passing through the Suez Canal.
Regardless of the fact that sea freight is assumed to be the least harmful method of transportation, it still contributes to global warming and it is vital for all of us to try and improve the processes so the GHG emissions can be further reduced. The benefit of working with Haulystic Innovations, is that we are linehaul sourcing specialists meaning that we assess every requirement differently and we create a pipeline strategy that is tailored to you and your business while taking care of the environment
Road Freight
Transporting goods by road accounts for 7% of the world’s total GHG emissions and by 2040 it is estimated that road freight will increase by 50%. Road haulage contributes to global warming by creating noise and air pollution. Moreover, trucks are involved in one out of ten accidents resulting in a huge environmental impact as well. Trucks use public infrastructure making it hard to assess the real damage they cause to roads and to the environment in return. Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) are responsible for 17% of GHG emissions, while making up for only 5% of road vehicles.
Many actions have been taken to improve road haulage processes and to take care of the Earth’s ecosystem. Some of these sustainable approaches include intensive driver training to reduce the accidents, the use of eco tyres and use of fuels that are friendly to the environment. These practises have achieved some significant results with the most important being the reduction of fleet GHG emissions by 9%.
While people, governments and organisations are constantly trying to decrease the environmental footprint of human processes, you can collaborate with an experienced freight forwarder that will route and pack trucks in the maximum possible efficiency resulting in you saving money and time and in the environment being a bit healthier.
As you can see, freight forwarding services are tightly connected to the environment. Every time you ship your products there is a chained reaction to the Earth’s ecosystem, meaning that you can make a significant change just by taking small actions.
Working with Haulystic Innovations assures that you receive an efficient plan for your products and a sustainable approach for the environment.
We are constantly improving our processes and adapting our business model to fit the regulations and practises that protect the environment. Being a Digital Linehaul Sourcing platform, enables us to focus on you, while operating according to environmentally friendly practises.
Start a unique and sustainable experience with Haulystic Innovations just by booking your shipments online!
Follow us on