It’s time to consider the environmental impact of spare parts transportation. There is a difference of over 4,000% in emissions between the most and the least polluting way of transporting cargo.
A greenhouse gas is a gas that absorbs and traps heat in the atmosphere contributing to the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a natural process that has been altered by human activities in the last decades causing an increase of about 1.0°C of average global temperature compared to pre-industrial levels. The principal contributors of CO2 produced by human activities come from the combustion of fossil fuels where the energy, transportation, and industry sectors are the main emitters.
The amount in grams of CO2 released per ton of freight per km (www.re-flow.io)
The figure below shows an example of the carbon footprint of the transportation of 1 ton of cargo from Coral Springs in Miami, USA to Lyngby, Denmark. The calculation compares the variations in CO2 equivalent emission between land and air freight and land and water freight.
Carbon footprint of the transportation of 1 ton of cargo from Coral Springs in Miami, USA to Lyngby, Denmark.
As it is shown in the figure, the environmental impact is much smaller by transporting by land and sea because the total emissions decrease by 98% compared to transporting the same cargo by land and air.
The road to commit to decreasing the environmental impact of the transport sector is long, but it starts with the companies taking action themselves. A behavioral change is necessary together with technological improvements. Rethinking business logistics, analyzing the supply chain structure and prioritization of sourcing locally instead of overseas can optimize the company’s transportation network and decrease its environmental impact. Another solution to consider would be to ship a spare part well in advance in order to avoid airfreight and to choose a less polluting way of transportation such as rail or shipping. Finally, better performance management and capacity optimization provided by digital platforms can also help to decrease environmental impacts caused by the companies.
Read more at www.re-flow.io