‘Green’ logistics adopted mainly for pragmatic reasons

Global - While many companies are committed to adopting environmentally friendly logistics operations, a survey conducted by Transport Intelligence (Ti) and Kewill showed a majority of respondents are only committed to "greening" their logistics operations if it benefits the company.

The survey, sponsored by Kewill, was conducted to investigate if "green logistics" is merely a trend to project companies in a better light, or if it is here to stay.

The majority of respondents agreed that the environment was important (52%) or very important (35%), showing that they cannot avoid "green logistics" investments. Respondents said that environmentally friendly initiatives can be broadly categorised into operational and strategic initiatives.

Examples of operational initiatives included the replacement of ageing fleets with newer cars that are fuel efficient, driver training programmes and choosing specially designed "green" warehouses. This also includes recycling of product packaging, decreasing the use of the air-conditioner and the conservation of energy by switching off lights when not in use.

Examples of strategic initiatives include the decrease in carbon emissions and the change in transport modes that will allow them to reduce their carbon footprint.

The poll also found 79% of the respondents think technology plays an important role in helping them reduce their carbon footprint, with respective percentages of 45% and 30% of respondents saying transport and management systems and supply-chain planning software produce optimal benefits to the environment.

However, a large number of respondents do not calculate their carbon footprints (45%) compared to 34.4% of respondents who do so.

When asked if companies had a formal policy in line with the corporate and social responsibility strategy, 68.6% of respondents agreed positively, emphasising that the majority of companies desire to be seen positively by implementing environmentally friendly initiatives.

Furthermore, businesses are realistic when it comes to adopting "green" measures; with most opting to do so only if "green" initiatives are balanced with operations costs while a 10% minority agreed that the impact on the environment must be reduced at all costs. Companies are adopting such measures for cost savings due mainly to the impact of rising oil prices.

Commenting on the findings, John Manners-Bell, Ti's CEO, said: "The survey results will not surprise the more cynical in the industry who believe that the cost of these types of initiatives always gets passed down the line. However, it seems that 'green logistics' is not a passing fad."

He continued: "The business case for implementing environmental initiatives cannot be doubted due to the cost savings they bring, especially when they offset the rising cost of oil."