On Wednesday 11th September we hosted a webinar to delve into decarbonising logistics, focussing on practical actions and real-life experiences.
We were joined by speakers from two logistics service providers who generously shared their experience and insights on the topic. We would like to thank Sabine Eisses (Head of Go Green Europe) and Lawrence Wright (VP, Sales & Marketing) from DHL Global Forwarding, and Klaus Pagh (Head of European Energy Transition Execution) from Maersk, who presented how their organisations are addressing the net zero challenge and answered our viewers’ questions on the topic during an interactive Q&A.
During the one-hour session we delved into topics including the common pitfalls of decarbonisation, the most promising technologies and where businesses should start on their logistics decarbonisation journeys.
There were many useful take-aways, but three key themes that came up throughout the discussion were:
- Start small and start now: decarbonising logistics can feel like a mountain to climb, but our speakers stressed that taking action on a small piece of your supply chain and starting to test and learn should not be delayed. This could be choosing a specific trade lane to start with and making changes there.
- We need to get creative: Moving away from fossil fuels needs us to think differently and resist the status quo. This includes individual truckers needing to be educated on the ‘new normal’ of EV HGVs, to finance and procurement teams considering total cost of ownership (TCO) in a different way, and even working collaboratively across the industry to invest in a charging network that supports all, but shares cost and risk.
- Management buy-in is essential: Although there are cost savings possible through optimisation, often decarbonisation involves large upfront investment. To make this possible, top management must be committed and assign a budget, rather than consistently push for reducing transport costs. This will pay back in time, as green logistics will be lower cost in the long term.
We were delighted to have so many of you join us, and if you would like to find out more or share your own thoughts and experiences on this topic, please get in touch with Rob Carlisle, Head of Logistics at Argon & Co.
If you couldn’t join us for the session, the full recording is available below.
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