Supply chains generate around 60% of all carbon emissions globally. With pressure mounting on the industry to move towards a greener future, freight forwarders have the ability to help their customers ship their goods in more sustainable ways. 

From pallet packaging, ensuring container fill is maximised or offering the most efficient transport modes, small changes can have a significant impact on the industry and the planet.

With both sustainability and supply chain visibility increasingly key priorities for companies in the logistics space, digital freight forwarder Zencargo has partnered with carbon measurement platform Pledge.

With Zencargo’s centralised platform, customers gain better visibility of their inbound supply chain and can adapt their strategies to reduce their emissions. Through the system, customers measure their CO2 footprint using established methodologies like the Global Logistics Emissions Council framework and take direct action to reduce emissions through smarter planning, supplementing this with decisions to support offsetting initiatives to bridge the gap to their sustainability goals. 

READ: Moving logistics towards a sustainable future 

Origin to destination

The partnership between Zencargo and Pledge aims to provide visibility across all shipments for customers and help them make data-driven decisions for improving supply chain sustainability. 

The platform allows for inbound measurement of a shipper’s CO2 footprint at a shipment level. It can also retrospectively measure CO2 emissions for historical shipments executed by Zencargo. 

The analytics the platform provides include mode, trade lane and transport legs. Zencargo’s in-platform reporting capabilities allow businesses to export any data via the platform on a monthly or cumulative basis. 

“The data that freight forwarders should have on their customers should enable them to give them actionable insights and advice on more sustainable routes and options,” John Smith, Global VP of Operations at Zencargo, stated.

This was all visible in the support given to B-Corp and a British footwear company, measuring their greenhouse gas emissions. The data contributed to scope 3 emissions reporting for shipments since 2019, covering air, sea, and road movements facilitated by Zencargo. The solution reduced manual data input minimising discrepancies, centralised storage for benchmarking and offered scalable emissions tracking as operations grew.

READ: Zencargo raises £30 million in funding

Industry pace

While there has been progress in recent years towards a greener industry, the pace of change in the airfreight industry is not yet fast enough to meet the targets set by many governments and organisations. 

To speed up the transition to a greener future, Zencargo is clear that businesses need to be investing in green and innovative technologies to help tackle supply chain emissions. 

“In today’s world, sustainability is not just a nice-to-have; it’s a business imperative. With the increasing stringency of environmental regulations, businesses that fail to prioritise sustainability risk significant liabilities, including fines, reputational damage, and lost market share,” Smith stated.

“To effectively promote sustainability, organisations must enhance education and awareness programmes. These programmes should emphasise the urgency of sustainability while empowering individuals to build persuasive business cases for sustainable practices. By equipping individuals with the knowledge and tools to articulate the benefits of sustainability, organisations can foster a culture of environmental responsibility and drive meaningful change from the top down as well as the bottom up.

“One way to start is to have the necessary tools to track and report on CO2 emissions in the supply chain to help understand offsetting and insetting opportunities to help build towards a more sustainable future,” he added.

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