Rhenus Logistics: A Collaborative Vision For A More Sustainable Future

When major world events rocked national economies over recent years, the critical importance of air and ocean logistics to support the global supply chain was evident. The transit of goods across continents is what enables businesses to function and people to access vital supplies of food, medicines, electronic devices and much more.

While it is crucial that these trade lanes are kept fully operational, the contribution they make to global carbon emissions cannot be ignored. As society moves to a more sustainable future, all businesses are seeking to implement more environmentally-friendly practices within their internal operations.

But this also needs to happen across their broader value chain too. For instance, more than 90% of Rhenus Air and Ocean emissions are Scope 3 – meaning they are beyond the direct control of the company. To tackle this issue, Rhenus is working with its supply chain partners to develop sustainable solutions that will empower the company, and its customers, to reduce or offset emissions. ?

As organisations seek to improve their environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials, many are asking their supply chain partners to support them with these goals. Almost half of businesses (43%) say they plan to include ESG targets within their suppliers’ contracts, while more than a quarter (28%) have already made this an obligation. ??????

Steps Towards Change

With the support of ClimatePartner , Rhenus managed to offset 3,766 tonnes of CO2e emissions at its Hilden and Trieste Gateways in 2022. But as a facilitator of ocean and air freight transport, Rhenus is a choice supplier that businesses will want support from when trying to achieve their own environmental targets. To address this, the company is providing alternative options that can help its customers decarbonise.

These includes its RHEGREEN service – the world’s first CO2 reduction programme for air freight transportation. This service provides customers with choices that can help to reduce their emissions by up to 40%. This is calculated based on the type of aircraft, fuel consumption and distances covered. ???

Rhenus also helps customers achieve a more sustainable approach through its FCL and LCL shipments, in part by subsidising offsetting, but also by providing alternative fuel options. Some companies are already inquiring about sustainable aviation and maritime fuel options Rhenus has available – and the company can tailor these solutions to customers on a case-by-case basis.?

Raising Awareness

However, as an industry, more work needs to be done before these alternative fuels become widely accepted. While 62% of businesses say they will pay extra for environmentally friendly options, that does depend on how much more – and alternative fuels do carry a ‘green premium’. ?

The freight forwarding industry is working with regulators and carriers to invest in and develop the technology needed to bring down the additional cost for cleaner fuels, but this will take time.

In the meantime, the best step the industry can take is to raise awareness of more environmentally- friendly options available to customers – and encourage adoption by highlighting the reduction in emissions that are achievable.

To help customers do just that, Rhenus now provides its customers with an emissions dashboard, which allows them to track their shipments’ carbon footprint from port to port. This is giving businesses easy- to-understand and credible reporting, which is in line with international standards, including the European standard EN 16258 for Ocean freight, IATA/ICAO standard for Air freight and the GLEC Framework.

Businesses can track their CO2 emissions on each shipment, with data calculated by EcoTransIT, and see quantifiable savings when they choose more sustainable options. This information can also be used to support any internal and external ESG reporting.

Rhenus aims to lead the logistics sector’s transition to more sustainable practices, and is constantly reviewing the pioneering solutions that will be needed to achieve this objective. By making environmentally-friendly choices more accessible, Rhenus hopes to both inspire and empower customers to take positive actions that can help them realise their decarbonisation goals.

A vision for a more sustainable future is not something that can be realised overnight. Through increased awareness of the options available – and greater knowledge of the benefits these are delivering – regulators, carriers, customers, and providers can work together to achieve their environmental targets in the not-too-distant future.

If you would like to talk to us about your sustainability goals, please contact [email protected].

{Article developed with inputs from Parach (Elle) Intaralip, Communication Manager, Rhenus Air & Ocean Sustainability}

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