Green International Logistics Services Are the Trend: What Companies Should Do for Less Carbon Footprint

Today, 80% of the energy consumed worldwide is provided by fossil-based production facilities. The carbon footprint determines the number of greenhouse gases produced by transportation and vehicles powered by fossil fuels. These gases, which are formed directly or indirectly by human activities, pose a severe ecological danger. International logistics services cover the sea, air, and road freight, account for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon emissions could double by 2050. As a major contributor to carbon footprints, the logistics industry is a critical part of the climate challenge. 

International Logistics Services Contributes to More Carbon Footprint

International logistics services are one of the essential components of economic growth, which are overgrowing to meet the increasing transportation demand in both developed and developing countries. This situation poses a problem in many countries regarding increasing energy consumption and carbon footprint. According to the data of the International Energy Agency (IEA), international logistics services from the transportation sector emits the most carbon footprint after the electricity and heat generation sectors. The increase in global trade, especially the spread of e-commerce as an international logistics service, shows that millions of global shipments made every day, together with millions of containers, cause an exponentially increasing carbon footprint.

Green Logistics Is the Solution to  Reduce Carbon Footprint

1. The Concept of Green Logistics

Today, more environmental investments against climate change, including: air pollution, noise, waste hazardous materials are developing further with the experience of the logistics industry in the last 20 years. The approach that measures the adverse effects of international logistics service activities on the environment and tries to minimize them is defined as green logistics.

Green logistics management is critical in determining the carbon footprint strategy and creating a competitive advantage accordingly. Since the early 1980s, the logistics industry has been introduced to the importance and awareness of the environment. Green methods worldwide, such as transporting products in large batches and using environmentally friendly motorized and fueled vehicles for production and shipment, have been incorporated into the industry’s transportation practices.

The 1990s witnessed the development of the international logistics services sector and the increasing importance of supply chain management among industries and businesses. Over time, logistics and supply chain concepts began to consider environmental issues. Since the 2000s, international logistics services, green logistics, and supply chain concepts have been tried, and environmentally friendly products and services have been developed within the scope of these concepts.

2. Green Logistics Practices in Supply Chains

The role and significance of the logistics industry in creating an environmentally friendly and carbon-free environment can not be neglected. To implement green logistics, companies can take steps as follows:

l Increase space utilization. This allows more goods to be accommodated during transportation, reducing transportation costs.

l Select green packaging materials, realizing the minimum negative impact on the environment. Sustainable transport methods and energy sources should be preferred.

l Optimal logistics planning. Companies can create a greener supply chain management by transforming their supply network and transportation methods. 

l Utilize technology in logistics. This method is used for obtaining useful data, enabling companies to distribute products more effectively and reduce errors.

An International Forwarding Company Is a Good Helper to Reduce Carbon Footprint

The abovementioned ways to achieve green logistics may not be easy for companies to adopt without enough experience in logistics management. One of the solutions is to work with an international forwarding partner who makes an effort in this regard. Whether export-import companies, international traders, e-Commerce entrepreneurs, or Amazon sellers, they can work with companies that provide global logistics services for their shipments to ensure green logistics management, thereby reducing their carbon footprint.

Conclusion:

A reliable international logistics partner can help companies improve their logistics reputation in their sales networks by providing the most economical, fast, and reliable delivery. Danspeed is the industry-leading one-stop courier that has NVOCC partnerships with leading carriers around the world. In addition to options such as fast shipping, parcel shipments, and Amazon FBA service, they offer the best international logistics services from China to the USA and Canada in terms of container shipments and ocean freight service with FCL and LCL service options.