Green Rankings 2012: Transportation & Logistics

Global policy developments to cut emissions are influencing change in the Transportation & Logistics industry. In response to major regulatory drivers, such as the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, leading companies are investing in more efficient vehicles that not only reduce compliance costs but also meet increasing consumer demand for sustainable products and services. Best practices also include setting long-term, quantitative reduction targets for warehouses and facilities worldwide and reporting annually on progress. As part of an industry with a significant carbon footprint, companies in this category should be actively reporting on their sustainability programs, progress, and related risks to all stakeholders. Yet much of the industry’s related disclosure is fragmented and largely focused on regulatory compliance.

Key Industry Impacts

• Water use, greenhouse-gas emissions, and general-waste generation and disposal combined account for more than 85 percent of the total environmental footprint for Transportation & Logistics companies.

• The industry accounts for 4 percent of the total greenhouse-gas emissions, and 2 percent of all waste generation and disposal, of all the companies in the Green Rankings.

• About 2.5 percent of the total environmental impact of companies ranked comes from this industry.

Critical Issue Profile: Fuel Efficiency

Persistently high fuel costs and strict regulations are driving companies to make improvements in vehicle fuel efficiency. For some, this has become a competitive opportunity to go beyond existing technologies and focus on innovation. Rail company Union Pacific has invested in ultra-low-emissions “Genset” diesel locomotives and hybrid electric “Green Goats,” which reduce fuel consumption by 16 percent. UPS designed an IT system that optimizes its routes to reduce idling time; initiatives like this have helped the company improve its ground-fleet fuel efficiency by 8 percent since 2007. Industry leaders are supporting these advances by disclosing company-wide programs to reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, along with long-term targets and deadlines.

Industry Ranking: How U.S. Transportation & Logistics Companies Stack Up