GLEC: Your strategic partner for more responsible logistics
The logistics sector is responsible for at least 16% of France's environmental footprint. This estimate includes the transport of goods, consumer travel, storage and packaging. Historically, this sector has struggled to integrate homogeneous emission accounting methodologies. The lack of data standardization, the diversity of distribution methods, and the absence of a clear reference framework are all obstacles to the implementation of robust environmental policies within supply chains. These complex problems call for concrete solutions.
Against this backdrop, the GLEC Framework has established itself as an essential international benchmark for measuring and reporting emissions in the sector. Designed in line with the GHG Protocol and recently consolidated by ISO 14083, GLEC aims to create a common language for all logistics players and facilitate communication.
But it's not just a question of standards: it's also a question of providing companies with accessible operationaltools, enabling every user to quantify, compare and manage their environmental performance. Thus, the ability to declare one's environmental footprint transparently via clear reporting becomes a strategic lever as much as an imperative for sustainability.
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A structured response to the challenges of logistics accounting
Reducing the GHG emissions associated with the transport of goods can no longer be left to chance. Every logistics project, whatever the profile of the company or its partners, needs to rely on common resources to structure the action. The Smart Freight Centre (SFC), through the GLEC Framework, offers an international reference framework to guide both transport service providers and personnel in charge of environmental management. It makes emissions accounting more reliable, and facilitates its integration into operational and strategic processes.
⚖️ Low-cost airlines
The modern logistics chain is fragmented, multi-actor and multi-modal. This complexity makes it particularly difficult to account consistently for transport-related emissions. Between outsourced road distribution, international maritime flows and outsourced warehouses, the datauser is faced with a problem of traceability. And without a common method, it's impossible to compare GHG balances, or to effectively manage their reduction.
The GLEC Framework, developed by the SFC, provides a structured response to this situation. It is designed to cover all transport services (road, rail, sea, air, river), integrating actual operational data. It thus enables each user to account for its environmental impact with a level of precision tailored to its maturity.
🔦 A necessary standardization for transparency and environmental reporting
Recognized by the GHG Protocol, the GLEC Framework has become the methodological basis for the ISO 14083 standard, which comes into force in 2023. This standardization provides a common language for companies, public authorities and investors to exchange information on environmental performance.
The benefits are many: better communication with customers, credible and verified ESG reporting, compliance with European requirements such as the CSRD, and above all, strategic management of environmental impact by location, activity or type of service. GLEC also provides input for internal impact studies, identifies emission reduction levers (modal shift, mutualization, load optimization) and objectifies investment choices, which has a direct impact on company finances.
🔍 Integrating environmental impact
Integrating carbon into corporate accounts is no longer a luxury, but a necessity based on economic, social and environmental reasons. Over and above regulatory obligations, this approach reflects a growing awareness that every person, every player in the supply chain, has a role to play in reducing our environmental footprint.
This is a welcome development in a world where climate issues are closely linked to our health and the resilience of our territories. By measuring and managing their environmental footprint, organizations can reconcile performance, responsibility and transparency, while contributing to a more sustainable future.
Data, tools and implementation
Faced with the growing complexity of emissions accounting, many companies are wondering what steps to take to structure their approach. The reasons vary: to meet regulatory requirements, to improve environmental performance, or to foster constructive discussion with logistics partners. Whatever the user'sexperience, it is essential to have concrete answers and proven methodologies to move from intention to action.
How to sustain and strengthen your business through a successful low-carbon trajectory.
🛢️ Data sources: a crucial operational challenge for logistics
The effectiveness of a CO2 emissions calculation depends on the quality of the data available: actual distances, weight transported, mode of transport, loading rate, etc. However, in many cases, the information is incomplete, dispersed between systems, or absent, which is a major problem. In many cases, however, this information is incomplete, dispersed between systems, or absent, which is a major problem.
The GLEC Framework proposes an approach based on levels of accuracy, depending on the data available. It encourages companies to move towards a high level of quality (use of primary data ), while making a default estimate possible, particularly for SMEs.
This methodological framework structures collection work, helps resolve problems of format heterogeneity, and strengthens users ' ability to dialogue with their partners.
💻Tools available: from Excel to Cloud Platform
Le GLEC peut être appliqué via des fichiers Excel, mais de plus en plus d’outils numériques sont disponibles, depuis les calculateurs open source jusqu’à des plateformes spécialisées. C’est ici que des solutions logicielles comme celle développée par Decarbo’Solution® se distinguent.
Accessible depuis tout navigateur, Decarbo’Solution® est une plateforme de mesure alignée sur les standards GHG Protocol et ISO 14067 et 14064. Elle propose une présentation claire des émissions par trajet, lieu, activité ou type de service. Ses fonctionnalités incluent l’import automatique des données, des visualisations graphiques, un module de suivi des réductions, permettant une gestion efficace du carbone.
💚 From information to ownership: mobilizing staff around the right tools
The success of a CSR approach also depends on the ability of teams to inform themselves, understand and appropriate the methods available. It's not enough to have the resources available: staff at head office and in operational offices must be able to use them effectively on a day-to-day basis. It's in this situation that clear answers and adapted tools are most welcome.
To achieve this, articles, practical guides and help pages accessible from any browser are essential. They make technical concepts easier to understand, support skills development and ensure that best practices are uniformly disseminated throughout the organization. There are many reasons for this kind of mobilization: to improve theexperience of everyone involved, to guarantee the consistency of actions and to maximize the positive impact of the company.
Challenges and prospects for French companies
Chaque service logistique est scruté pour son impact environnemental, les utilisateurs se retrouvent confrontés à une situation complexe : multiplier les exigences réglementaires, croiser des sources de données hétérogènes, et répondre à des attentes de transparence croissantes. Face à ce problème, des solutions comme celle développée par la plateforme Decarbo’Solution® offre une voie structurée pour reprendre le contrôle sur le calcul des émissions de GES et en faire un véritable levier de transformation.
🚚A pressurized transport sector
Freight transport accounts for almost 331 MtCO₂e in France, making it the 2nd largest emissions item in France's carbon footprint. France's climate commitments call for a 55% reduction in the sector's emissions by 2030 compared with 1990 levels.
This context requires companies to justify their efforts with verified data. Environmental impact assessment is no longer just an option, but a strategic imperative, both to access financing and to meet regulatory expectations (CSRD, green taxonomy, SFDR), as carbon impact assessment is now key to companies' finances and future missions.
C’est dans cette dynamique que s’inscrit le partenariat entre Decarbo’Solution® et TK’Blue. Ensemble, ils offrent aux entreprises une solution robuste d’évaluation et de certification des émissions de CO₂ liées au transport. TK’Blue, plateforme spécialisée dans la mesure de la performance environnementale des chaînes logistiques, met à disposition ses outils de traçabilité et de notation, tandis que Decarbo’Solution® apporte son expertise stratégique en accompagnement durable.
This partnership aims to make carbon traceability not only possible, but also actionable and valuable for companies concerned about their impact and regulatory compliance.
To find out more, click here!
✨ The structuring role of the Global Climate Initiative as a steering platform
The Global Climate Initiative provides a comprehensive, unique and practical solution to the challenges of implementation. It stands out for its compatibility with the GLEC Framework, its ease of use, and its adaptability to all company sizes.
Disponible en ligne, la plateforme Decarbo’Solution® permet aux utilisateurs de modéliser leurs émissions, d’en suivre l’évolution, et de certifier leurs résultats. Reconnue officiellement comme bureau d’études, Decarbo’Solution® apporte également une preuve d’expertise qui renforce la crédibilité des démarches entreprises.
It facilitates discussions between businesses, cooperation with service providers, and the integration of data into non-financial reporting.
Le pilotage carbone devient une dimension transversale : il concerne les achats, la logistique, la RSE, les finances. Intégrer les méthodologies du GLEC et les plateformes telle que Decarbo’Solution® dans sa transition environnementale permet non seulement de répondre aux obligations, mais aussi de structurer une stratégie de durabilité à long terme pour l’entreprise.
This enables companies to achieve key milestones in their environmental projects:
- Identifyemission hotspots.
- Compare their performance with sector studies.
- Prioritize green investments.
- Mobilize their teams to work together to achieve their missions.
- Use relevant articles to understand best practices.
This paradigm shift transforms carbon reporting from a compliance exercise into a strategic management tool.
In a world where companies' carbon footprints are now closely scrutinized by investors, customers and regulators, the adoption of robust methodologies such as the GLEC Framework, supported by the Smart Freight Centre, is becoming essential. For every user, it is essential to have access to simple tools that are integrated into internal management processes.
Compatible platforms, such as that proposed by the Global Climate Initiative, facilitate this measurement, monitoring and steering work, transforming a technical requirement into a strategic lever. By structuring data collection, facilitating communication and cooperation between professions, and making results legible on a clear, verified reporting page, they bring significant added value to the management of the environmental footprint in logistics.
