Green logistics, in the context of humanitarian logistics encourages all stakeholders to consider the impact of their actions on the environment. The main objective of Green logistics is to coordinate the activities within a supply chain in such a way that beneficiary needs are met at "least cost" to the environment. It is a principle component of reverse logistics. In the past “cost” has been defined in purely monetary terms, whereas "cost" can now also be understood as the external costs of logistics associated with: climate change, air pollution, dumping waste (including packaging waste), soil degradation, noise, vibration and accidents.
2. Current Scenario
• Road freight increased from 67 billlion TKM to 1,128 billion
TKM during 1970-2010 at a CAGR of 7.3% [1]
• Annual CO2 emissions would increase from 2.45 million
tons CO2 in 2016-17 to 12.32 million tons in 2046-47 [2]
• CAGR in Indian CO2 emissions from transport sector due
to fossil fuel combustion has been around 4.5 %
compared to 1.16 % in OECD countries [3]
2
3. Need for Green Logistics
• Mounting energy costs
• Worldwide alarms among corporate over GHG emissions
• Climate change
• Regulations such as EPA (Environmental Protection Agency),
RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances)
• Improved community awareness of environmental issues
3
4. Ways To Go Sustainable
• Restoring to rail as primary mode
• GHG emissions reduction by
• Reducing the loads
• Increasing fuel efficiency
• Eco friendly fuel
• Reducing emissions from vehicle exhaust
• Transportation management system
• Transportation considerations
• Shipment consolidation
• Reducing empty miles
• Multimodal logistics
• Distribution optimization
• Lean distribution processes
• Trimming transportation miles
4
http://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/what-is-green-logistics-and-why-is-it-important-for-india-115080600426_1.html
the CAGR in Indian CO2 emissions from transport sector due to fossil fuel combustion has been around 4.5 % compared to 1.16 % in OECD countries and 1.04 % in North America in the previous decade
http://www.unep.org/transport/lowcarbon/PDFs/TransportScenarios.pdf
road freight increased from 67 billlion tkm to 1,128 billion tkm during the same period at a CAGR of 7.3%
http://www.countercurrents.org/nazareth160313.htm
the annual CO2 emissions would increase from 2.45 million tons CO2 in 2016-17 to 12.32 million tons in 2046-47
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/how-green-is-your-supply-chain/article2333715.ece
In India, the sector accounted for seven per cent of GHG emissions in 2007, and this is expected to double to 14 per cent by 2025, according to the Environment Ministry
http://www.tcs.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/White%20Papers/CPG_WhitePaper_Green_Logistics_08_2010.pdf
Mounting energy costs
Increasing power and fuel costs, together with the cost of related raw materials used in infrastructure building and functioning has led to chances for looking into green alternatives that can significantly lead to a reduction in the price. Reducing the power consumed by IT apparatus, energy efficient lighting and cooling, substitutive energy sources, recycling and tele-presence can help develop the bottom line in business financial sheets.
Worldwide alarms among corporate over GHG (Green House Gases) emissions
Many corporate policies now consist of targets for decreasing their impact on the surroundings. With IT equipment, infrastructure and people having a significant footprint in any business today, identifying and lowering its impact is becoming very important. Green IT is thus as important to an industrial manufacturer as it is to a telecom or an IT services organization.
Climate change
Global Warming impacts weather, ice-caps and glacier. On an average, mountain glaciers and snow cover have reduced in both the northern and southern hemispheres. This widespread lowering in glaciers and ice caps has contributed to observed sea level rise.
Regulations such as EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) and so on
The environmental policies in diverse geographies can be largely classified as regulatory (bans, permits and standards), financial (gains for adherence and reduction) and educational (environmental reporting, audits, product labeling and so on). Green IT knowledge and concerns are leading to the development of legislations along all these areas. Assortments of IT hardware in an organization need to follow certain specifications to obtain Energy Star Ratings. This has been effective in the US since 2007.Controlling the carbon trace of IT is also becoming significant for getting environmental certifications. Penalization by policing agencies to implement carbon credit obedience is another inspiring factor for Green IT initiatives. Many inducements are being provided by the governments (tax incentives) and service companies to embark on projects such as cooling system retrofits, apparatus consolidation and self-generation through interchangeable sources to make up for some of the savings costs for commissioning these transformations.
Improved community awareness of environmental issues
Widespread consciousness is likely to lead to privileged choices in vendor selection based on Green IT practices. A flourishing Green IT tactic is largely reliant on an end-to-end obedience across supply chains, along-with sharing the best procedures in companies across the supply chain.
we need to address the issue at three levels: public policy, business and individual
Over the years, the share of rail transport has decreased drastically by more than two-thirds from 89 % in 1951, while the share of road transport has increased seven-fold from 10 % within the same period. Restoring rail as a primary mode of transport, in particular for freight, would be essential, as rail emissions (per tonne km) are at least five times lesser than road emissions. Although Indian roads, despite being in bad shape, will still retain a major share of transportation as they alone can provide door-to-door delivery, until we move on to intermodal transport with roads providing only the last-mile delivery.
Fuel efficiency, payload management, routing and driving techniques matter a lot in saving costs. For small trucking companies masquerading as logistics operators, performance metrics for monitoring these aspects are alien practices. Going green and being greener than your competitors is still not an advantage in Indian logistics industry due to consumer apathy.
http://www.ripublication.com/iraer-spl/iraerv4n1spl_14.pdf
A business gain can gain the following benefits from getting into ‘green logistics’ - Reduction in CO2 emissions Unlocking significant cost savings Heightened supply chain optimization Boosted business performance
when adapting green logistics there are some paradoxes that arise as given below: Cost: Companies wants to get the cheapest way to do things but at the same time they should choose options that are green, which sometimes are more costly to the company. The purpose of logistics is to minimize costs, notably transport costs. The cost-saving strategies that are pursued by logistics operators are often at variance with environmental considerations. Time/Flexibility : The modern integrated supply chains and JIT provide adjustable and competent physical distribution systems but on the other hand extended production, distribution and retailing models are consuming more space, energy and generate more emissions (CO2, particulates, NOx, etc.). Reliability: At the heart of logistics is the overriding importance of service reliability. Its success is based upon the ability to deliver freight on time with the least threat of breakage or damage while the least polluting modes are generally regarded as being the least reliable in terms of on-time delivery, lack of breakage and safety. Ships and railways have inherited a reputation for poor customer satisfaction, and the logistics industry is built around air and truck shipments... the two least environmentally-friendly modes. Warehousing: A reduction in warehousing demands is one of the advantages of logistics. This means however, that inventories have been transferred to a certain degree to the transport system, especially the roads. Inventories are actually in transit, contributing still further to congestion and pollution. The environment and society, not the logistical operators, are assuming the external costs. E-commerce: The explosion of the information technology has led to new dimensions in retailing - e-commerce. However, changes in physical distribution systems by e-commerce have led to higher levels of energy consumption.
https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg3/ar4-wg3-chapter5.pdf
GHG emissions associated with vehicles can be reduced by four types of measures: 1. Reducing the loads (weight, rolling and air resistance and accessory loads) on the vehicle, thus reducing the work needed to operate it; 2. Increasing the efficiency of converting the fuel energy to work, by improving drive train efficiency and recapturing energy losses; 3. Changing to a less carbon-intensive fuel; and 4. Reducing emissions of non-CO2 GHGs from vehicle exhaust and climate controls
http://www.miq.com/about/environmental-sustainability/
shipment consolidation, distribution optimization, and electronic documentation
Electronic documentation:
Transportation management system cuts paper waste with online resources to coordinate purchase orders, optimize your transportation, view documentation, track shipments, receive electronic receipts of transportation invoices for payment, and analyze shipment lifecycles
Purchase order management tools streamline processes, increase planning, better manage documentation, and generate higher efficiencies.
Transportation considerations:
Consolidation of small shipments maximize truck/container utilization
Loads matched on an end-to-end basis reduce empty miles
Modal shifts which fit customer’s needs, such as converting airfreight to ocean freight or using rail for shipments over 750 miles, can reduce fuel consumption.
Distribution optimization:
Productivity studies identify ways to eliminate waste and incorporate lean distribution processes
The number and location of warehouse facilities bring inventory closer to customers, trimming transportation miles
Cost-efficient delivery routes reduce empty miles.
CARBON FOOTPRINT MODELING
http://www.usanfranonline.com/resources/supply-chain-management/environmental-sustainability-a-new-priority-for-logistics/#.Vx81sfl97IU
Streamlining the logistics to promote combined shipments to increase full loads, retro-fitting equipment for increased fuel efficiency, investing in bio-diesel, re-writing route maps, investing in re-usable containers, and securing bulk packaging are all proven ways that creative logistics managers can positively address transportation challenges and produce a more effective product distribution and transportation system.
http://www.dell.com/learn/in/en/incorp1/corp-comm/earth-transportation-logistics
Optimizing transportation networks for more efficient tripsTruck to Rail, Air to Sea
Partner Expansion
Packaging Innovations
Container Optimization
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/how-green-is-your-supply-chain/article2333715.ece
SupplyChain CarbonDashboard to its customers, delivering a quarterly graphical representation of a customer's logistics footprint at shipment, product group and mode of transport (ocean, rail, truck, barge and air) levels.
http://www.tcs.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/White%20Papers/CPG_WhitePaper_Green_Logistics_08_2010.pdf
Following are the four areas wherein a successful green logistics implementation can have a positive impact on the overall Supply Chain of the organization: Network Optimization
Packaging Reduction
Sustainable Procurement
Warehouse Layout Optimization
Driving patterns
Route planning
Vehicle maintenance record
Packaging solutions
intermodal transport
Return load
Compliance solutions
Carbon reporting: Greenhouse Gas Protocol Product Lifecycle Accounting and Reporting Standard‘
Online Carbon Dashboard
http://www.ripublication.com/iraer-spl/iraerv4n1spl_14.pdf
create a carbon report that provides you with the confidence to design your own carbon reduction strategy
http://www.miq.com/about/environmental-sustainability/
shipment consolidation, distribution optimization, and electronic documentation
http://www.globallogisticsmedia.com/articles/view/what-is-sustainability-and-how-does-it-relate-to-logistics
Combining ocean and rail shipments whenever possible and reducing truck miles