Green Freight Europe Launched
Date Posted: 2012-04-13
A voluntary programme providing "the road to sustainble transport"
By providing a platform, the programme helps companies to reduce the carbon emissions of their road freight. The emissions can be calculated and monitored through a central database. Furthermore, shippers are encouraged to compare the environmental performances of different carriers, which will enable logistics managers to measure the carbon footprint of their products. Also carriers themselves reap benefits from this since it will attract more and more climate conscious customers. A certification system will also be established. Green Freight Europe is not a stand-alone initiative, but looks to foster cooperation with other related initiatives, programmes and working groups globally.
The industry-led initiativeformerly known as SmartWay Europe, was launched under the new name GREEN FREIGHT EUROPE. Founder members of the group comprise over 30 companies, including multinational shippers, carriers, retailers and associations. The group aims to establish Green Freight Europe as the leading independent voluntary programme for improvingenvironmental performance of road freight transport in Europe. The launch event took place in the Stanhope Hotel in Brussels in the presence of European Vice President and Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas and key figures of Europe's policy forming institutions and trade organisations.
About the programme
Björn Hannappel from Deutsche Post DHL and Chair of the Green Freight Europe Steering Group, explained: "Our programme is clearly striking a chord with people from industry and politics who recognise that greater visibility is required in the actual emissions generated by road freight transport operations in order to find the best solutions to reduce them. The time is right for industry, shippers, carriers and logistics service providers to work together to provide the tools and means to do this. With Green Freight Europe we are able to provide the standard tools, methodology and pan-European CO2 benchmarks of our industry. We can accelerate work already begun by our group to develop a programme of initiatives which will share the best technologies, technical developments and practices for reducing CO2 emissions. And we will be able to measure their effectiveness so that people know what they are getting, what can be achieved, and see how well they are achieving their targets."
Andrew Traill, Policy Director for the European Shippers' Council that, along with the Dutch shippers' organisation EVO, is providing the secretariat for Green Freight Europe, added: "We hope this sends out a strong signal to other companies and organisations to join us and get involved in the development work that is taking place, and to use the tools that we produce in order to reduce CO2 emissions. The EU's emissions targets cannot be achieved without industry's proactive support and engagement in such initiatives."
For more information: http://www.greenfreighteurope.eu/news/new-european-industry-initiative-launched.aspx