The logistics and transport sector are one of the largest contributors to carbon emissions on the planet. Are sustainable fuels, stricter emission standards, green infrastructure and fleet sharing the answers? What more can we do to lessen our carbon footprint?
The Logistics News ME Forum was held on 29 March at Sofitel Dubai The Palm.
“Transport emission have grown faster than those of any other sector over the past 50 years. And demand will continue to grow in the coming decades. There has been growing pressure from all stakeholders, both internally and externally to make positive and meaningful changes within the industry.
“Recent accelerated growth in technological advances and innovation suggest a significant potential for such technologies to support sustainability-building efforts in maritime transport. To bring about meaningful change, it will take a collaborative effort from all parties. As a logistics provider, I have seen a growing interest from customers to mitigate CO2 where possible. And I believe that by introducing new and innovative solutions, optimising supply chains and implementing new technologies, this will give logistics service providers a tangible competitive advantage.”
Ayman Kabbara, Managing Director, Scan Global Logistics
“Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria, which include sustainability, are crucial practices corporations need to implement. While most companies only implement ESG at board level and it doesn’t cascade down to operations. This is now changing, today businesses, especially logistics companies are taking sustainability seriously. For example, we, at SISCO, from 2021, included ESG compliance and participation in ESG programmes as a top priority for every department. Employee performance appraisal are also based on ESG and participation in ESG related programmes. This affects their annual bonus and incentives.
“Such initiatives are necessary to ensure we make sustainability a priority not only in our businesses but in our lives too. Sustainability must be a part of our culture and must be driven top to bottom, that’s the only way it can succeed and yield some benefit to the organisation, the market and society.”
Mohammed Al-Mudarres, CEO, Saudi Industrial Services Co.
“Logistic is vital for society and it is very important that it is sustainable. Within UD, we see sustainability with the big picture and not in one specific area. As key player in logistics, we want to be a Japanese leader in sustainability addressing the four sectors: environment, customer satisfaction, employees, and performance.
“We see an urgent need to improve efficiency as trucks are still not used with full capacity and this is very important for the sustainability of our customer business. When it comes to the environment, we see multiple opportunities in the short- to mid-term: improving efficiency of the driveline and reducing fuel consumption will directly improve CO2 emissions.
“For the mid- to long-term, electric battery vehicles would be an alternative for city distribution and short-range applications. Electric fuel cells with hydrogen would be the substitute for long haul/long range applications. E-fuels may be used on lower scale for some applications with internal combustion engines.
“Ultimately, we all need to adhere to this sustainability journey, and we need to work jointly cross industries and between competitors to make a difference as this is a problem for the society as a whole.”
Mourad Hedna, President, UD Trucks MEENA
“It was lovely moderating a session on sustainability. We lead the discussion with a focus on what can and is being done right now to reduce emissions, fuel consumption and wastage in the logistics industry and what part technology can play in meeting the corporate and governmental goals being set. The questions being asked all over the world, how many of the initiatives being announced to the global market are just marketing soundbites from large enterprises who benefit commercially from their ESG positioning over smaller companies’ versus how much real action and work to reduce emissions filters down into the operations and whether there is much effort into calculating, verifying, and policing the sometimes over communicated promises.
“There appears to be a convenience with making long term ESG statements of NetZero by 2030, but in most cases the actions for getting there don’t appear to match the marketing statements. One of the significant positives we have taken away from the presentations and panel discussions is that technology and digitalisation are driving efficiency, which in turn cut costs, delays, and emissions.”
Rob Mortimer, Founder & Co-owner, BOOSTplus Biofuel