Representatives of the European Parliament and the European
commission recently welcomed the industry-driven approach to
establish a pan-European standard system for collecting, analyzing
and monitoring CO2 emissions from road freight operations. The
initiators of the programme, HEINEKEN, The Dow Chemical Company,
DHL and TNT informed key European officials about the progress made
towards a uniquely European version of the comparable SmartWay
Partnership programme in the US. Since last year the group has
grown from seven founder members to some 25 companies committed to
seeing this initiative succeed. Together with the Energy Saving
Trust (EST), the European Shippers' Council , and EVO (taking the
role of the secretariat) GreenFreight Europe was brought to
life.
The initiative GreenFreight Europe aims to generate strong
market incentives to engage companies across the supply chains in
green procurement of transportation services in order stimulate
long-term improvements. Therefore, a central database to calculate,
validate and benchmark the environmental performance of
transportation companies was built and designed. The database is
hosted by a neutral and independent body. This way logistics
managers are able to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of
their products through green procurement of transportation
services. Transportation companies will benefit from attracting
climate-conscious customers, understanding their environmental
score and getting access to best-practices on eco-efficiency.
Following a first year of comparing, testing and evaluating
different concepts, the European initiative officially launched on
March 2012 on the basis of its own European methodology
The program drives reductions of carbon emissions by:
- Establishing a platform for monitoring and reporting of carbon
emissions, to assist in the procurement of transportation services
and based on existing standard.
- Promoting collaboration between carriers and shippers in
driving improvement actions and monitoring progress.
- Establishing a certification system to reward shippers and
carriers who fully participate in the program.
It is also the platform for companies to share best practices,
promote innovations and communicate sustainability improvements on
European road freight.
Furthermore, GreenFreight Europe fosters cooperation with other
related initiatives, programs and working groups globally.