BearingPoint Addresses Increasing Requirements in Measuring Carbon Emissions and Is Setting New Standards in Terms of Accuracy and Comprehensiveness
Frankfurt am Main, April 03, 2012 – Reacting on an increase of regulations and requirements in the area of carbon measurement in the transport and logistics sector, management and technology consultancy BearingPoint () presents the “Logistics Emissions Calculator” (LogEC). The new software solution offers logistics providers and shippers the ability to calculate and analyse their carbon footprint, as well as to plan, evaluate and manage initiatives to reduce their emission levels. With LogEC, the increasing carbon measurement requirements are addressed and a new standard of accuracy and comprehensiveness is set. BearingPoint’s approach marks a first step towards process and product eco-labelling as the challenges for logistic providers rise: since January, air traffic in Europe is subject to emissions trading. The European standard prEN 16258 for calculating carbon emissions in transport services will come into force this year. In France, it will be obligatory for companies to deliver carbon emission data for each journey from July 1, 2013, onwards. According to the BearingPoint Green SCM Monitor, 60 percent of European businesses haven’t taken any action yet regarding the measurement of their carbon footprint.
“Logistics service providers and shippers can no longer avoid the necessity of regularly measuring their carbon emissions. In the future, this will be a legal requirement, and a decisive competitive factor. Not only will it be necessary to reduce one’s carbon footprint, but to provide an offering of sustainable services to win over customers”, says Yvon Donval, Partner at BearingPoint. “Whoever wants to make their business greener in the future should know what the environmental impact of their actions is today.”
The Challenge of Measuring The Carbon Footprint
Measuring their own carbon footprint presents a big challenge for most businesses. In addition to the uncertainty regarding the appropriate calculation method, current approaches and tools are limited due to challenges of integrating with established data landscapes, providing comprehensive reporting and compliance with existing legal regulations. Experience has shown that the data required to calculate a precise carbon footprint is only partially, if at all, available for most businesses. Calculation tools therefore must be flexible and able to process, both average and precise measurements. In addition to current utilization, fleet composition and engine technology, the calculation of long-term reduction goals also requires the anticipation of prevailing emissions classes. Most calculation approaches and tools do not fulfil these requirements resulting in wrong carbon/emission balances and therefore missed reduction targets.
LogEC Today Already Meets Tomorrow’s Requirements
LogEC supports companies in defining sustainable processes by allowing them to calculate and analyze the effects of every shipment (down to an individual parcel) and therefore to understand and identify the optimization potential. Based on the results, it is for example possible to determine on which routes or with which type of freight the highest levels of emission are caused and where preventative measures should be implemented. The effect of the defined measures can then be tracked by LogEC. Due to the integration of logistics network data from leading service providers, the tool also becomes useful for shippers and carriers – a novelty on the market right now.
LogEC provides accurate carbon calculations for completed transport routes and is also able to simulate transport scenarios or reduction targets. For example a future fleet consumption can be simulated, which allows the definition of realistic targets for future emission reductions. The highest accuracy of the LogEC results can be achieved using detailed data from a business, where this is not available data gaps can be closed using standard values from official databases, for example from the Handbook Emission Factors for Road Transport. Whether by train, ship, plane or truck, the greenhouse gases of all methods of transportation as well as global multi-modal transportation chains can be evaluated. LogEC easily interfaces with SAP for import and export of relevant data.