Kuehne+Nagel launches low carbon transport programme

Freight forwarder Kuehne+Nagel has launched a Net Zero Carbon programme that will aim to reduce the environmental impact of supply chains.

The Switzerland-headquartered company said it had launched the programme to proactively address the CO2 footprint of the transportation performed by suppliers such as airlines, shipping lines and haulage firms.

K+N will target CO2 neutralisation by 2030 and as a first step, all less-than-container-load shipments will be CO2 neutral from 2020.

The Net Zero Carbon programme will target three areas: detection, reduction and compensation of CO2.

The compensation programme will see the company start its own nature projects in Myanmar and New Zealand and it has already invested in various nature-based CO2 compensation projects, where carbon is being taken from the atmosphere.

“The emission credits obtained are in accordance with the highest international standards,” the forwarder said.

K+N chief executive Detlef Trefzger said: “As one of the leading logistics companies worldwide, we acknowledge the responsibility we have for the environment, for our ecosystem and essentially for the people.

“Today’s announcement is based on a package of measures to fight CO2 emissions and provide sustainable and innovative supply chain solutions – hand in hand with our suppliers and customers. We thus support the aim of the Paris agreement to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C.”

The forwarder said that it had already considerably reduced its own CO2 footprint and will “continue to pursue efforts”.

“Ongoing training programmes maintain and expand the environmental awareness of employees. For example, video conferencing increasingly replaces business trips. Direct Kuehne + Nagel CO2 emissions  that cannot be avoided will be fully compensated as of 2020,” K+N said.

K+N is not the only forwarder that is aiming to reduce the environmental impact of its supply chain operations as the environmental impact of transport and logistics is increasingly coming under the microscope.

Sweden-based freight forwarder Scandinavian Logistics Partners (Scanlog) is off-setting the CO2e* emissions caused by airfreight, including pre- and on-carriage, that is handled for its customers, by investing in projects certified according to the international standards Gold Standard and Climate & Community Biodiversity Standard.

Earlier this year TIACA and CHAMP teamed up to launch a sustainability programme for airfreight.

*CO2e allows other greenhouse gas emissions to be expressed in terms of CO2 based on their relative global warming potential (GWP). CO2 has a GWP of 1, methane has a GWP of approximately 25. Read more on CO2e here.