Why and how can a company reduce GHG emissions from its travel and transportation operations and improve its Carbon Competitiveness®?

The Environmental Impact of Travel and Transportation in France

According to the June 2019 Annual Report on Carbon Neutrality by the High Council for Climate Action, transportation accounts for 31% of greenhouse gas emissions in France, making it the country’s largest source of emissions.

Therefore, in order to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and avoid being caught off guard by future changes in taxation, competitive bidding, and regulations, companies are strongly advised to begin the process of decarbonizing their travel and transportation activities now.

According to the Data Lab’s 2022 Key Transportation Figures, road transport accounted for 94.7% of the sector’s emissions in 2020, or 107.5 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent. This sector therefore offers considerable potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Here are some measures that can be implemented to decarbonize these trips and transportation.

How can you decarbonize and optimize your travel and transportation operations?

This decarbonization effort enables companies to both improve their operational efficiency and strengthen their commitment to sustainable development.

There are seven key actions to implement:

🔎 Analyze the current carbon footprint of your travel and transportation

Analyzing the company’s current carbon footprint from travel and transportation flows is the first step.

This assessment highlights the areas with the highest carbon emissions that need to be addressed first.

Next, there are six steps to follow in sequence:

➡️ Step 1: Data Collection

All information on transportation and logistics flows: number of kilometers per operation, types of vehicles used, types of energy and energy consumption, mode of transport (road, sea, air, rail, inland waterways), tonnage, load factor, and empty-run rate.

➡️ Step 2: Conversion to CO2 equivalent

The collected data is converted into CO2-equivalent emissions. To do this, it is essential to use a reliable platform that is open to both shippers and carriers; otherwise, the results may not be compliant or representative. The Decarbo’Solution® platform enables these data to be converted in full compliance with regulations, using standardized emission factors or primary factors obtained directly from carriers, thereby yielding reliable results that are enforceable against third parties.

➡️ Step 3: Categorizing Trips

Next, travel must be categorized into different groups, such as employee travel, company vehicles, business travel, logistics, and so on. This provides an overview of the carbon footprint by category.

➡️ Step 4: Analysis and Interpretation of Results

Analyzing the collected data—converted into CO2-equivalent emissions — is a key step that will help identify major sources of emissions, trends, and opportunities for improvement. For example, one might find that air travel accounts for a significant portion of emissions and decide to promote alternatives such as virtual meetings and maritime transport for freight.

➡️ Step 5: Setting Goals and Developing an Action Plan

Based on the results of the analysis, we can then set goals for reducing CO2 emissions and develop an action plan to achieve them: encouraging carpooling, adopting electric vehicles, promoting remote work, sharing resources, shifting to other modes of transportation, etc.

➡️ Step 6: Monitoring and Reporting

The final step is to establish a regular process for tracking the company’s progress in reducing its carbon footprint and to publish periodic reports to share this information with internal and external stakeholders, thereby demonstrating a collective commitment to sustainability.

🔵 The Decarbo’Solution® platform supports each of these steps and enables users to identify, calculate, reduce, and offset the emissions associated with these transportation and travel activities, in full compliance with regulations.

Thanks to its wide range of services and user-friendly platform, Decarbo’Solution® allows users to analyze the carbon footprint associated with their transportation—either independently or with the assistance of a Decarbo’Solution®-certified expert:

✅Identify areas for improvement (comparative analyses, uncertainty calculations, benchmarking, waterfall diagrams, simulations, projections, etc.) for the actions

✅ Incorporate the action plan into the BEGES

✅ Streamline data collection using tailored questionnaires, organized intuitively into 7 categories that cover all regulatory positions

✅Track and manage your SBT (Science-Based Target) or SNBC (National Low-Carbon Strategy) trajectory, and compare it in real time

📈 Optimize to reduce emissions and save money!

Optimization is a valuable step in a decarbonization strategy because it maximizes performance while reducing waste and improving operational and environmental efficiency.

Optimize the vehicle fleet

By optimizing the vehicle fleet, you can reduce operating costs, minimize greenhouse gas emissions, and improve the company’s overall transportation efficiency. How? Through five simple steps:

Needs Assessment:

👉 Conduct a detailed assessment of the company's transportation and travel needs.

👉 Identify the types of trips, distances traveled, schedules, cargo carried, etc.

This analysis helps determine the size, composition, and required characteristics of the fleet.

Streamlining the size of the fleet:

👉 Reduce the number of vehicles in your fleet by eliminating unnecessary or underutilized vehicles.

👉Use vehicle tracking and management tools to identify opportunities to consolidate and optimize vehicle usage.

The adoption of more fuel-efficient vehicles:

👉 Replace older, less fuel-efficient vehicles with more fuel-efficient ones.

👉 Prioritize hybrid, electric, or low-CO2-emission vehicles.

👉 Choose vehicles that are tailored to the company's specific needs.

Implementing preventive maintenance:

👉 Require a regular vehicle maintenance program to maximize their energy efficiency and extend their service life.

👉 Make sure to keep tires properly inflated, change the oil regularly, and check the engine management systems to optimize vehicle performance.

The use of fleet management tools:

👉 Implement fleet management systems that allow you to track and optimize vehicle usage.

These tools provide real-time data on fuel consumption, routes, maintenance, driver performance, and more, making it easier to make informed decisions to improve fleet efficiency.

Optimize delivery routes

By improving delivery route planning, companies can lower operational costs, save time, and reduce their environmental impact by minimizing the distances traveled by vehicles. An effective method for optimizing these routes is to consolidate deliveries. By identifying shipments that can be combined on the same route, the number of trips needed to reach similar geographic areas is reduced. This approach leads to significant fuel savings and a substantial reduction in CO2 emissions.

Ask your carriers for the exact “carbon footprint” of their transportation services!

Only by knowing the “carbon footprint” of your various service providers can you make informed choices and select the one that offers the lowest-carbon solution. They have been required to report this information since October 1, 2013 (Decree 2011-1336).

The Decarbo’Solution® platform enables the implementation of this “carbon-positive®” supplier selection process, which highlights suppliers’ “carbon competitiveness®.”

In fact, the platform enables companies to collaborate with their suppliers to identify decarbonization solutions and work together to explore ways to reduce CO2 emissions throughout the supply chain.

It’s becoming easy and accessible to determine “carbon footprint” thanks to two key services:

✅ Decarbo’Solution®’s “Dissemination and Tracking” service: This service automatically sends an email requesting emission factors from various suppliers and service providers and provides a tracking dashboard.

✅ The “carbon” analysis service for offers: This service enables the company to assess the carbon footprint of the goods or services offered by its suppliers, allowing it to prioritize those with a lower “carbon footprint.” In this way, the company promotes more sustainable choices.

The Decarbo’Solution® platform thus becomes a valuable ally in the decarbonization process, helping to implement targeted and essential actions to achieve the company’s goals for reducing its transportation footprint.

Strengthening CSR Commitment by Decarbonizing Travel and Transportation

Decarbonizing transportation is a key aspect of CSR for many companies, as it helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and also improves their employees' quality of life at work.

Here are two actions that address these two factors:

🖥️ Strengthen the telework policy

Telework reduces the number of commutes employees make between home and work, which helps the company reduce CO2 emissions from transportation by limiting daily trips.

In addition, it can also reduce the need for business travel—such as in-person meetings or business trips—which can be replaced by virtual meetings thanks to user-friendly online collaboration tools.

Telework also offers employees greater flexibility in organizing their schedules and helps reduce the stress associated with daily commutes. An effective telework policy can thus improve employees’ energy levels and well-being, while contributing to the decarbonization of transportation.

🚌 Implement a mobility plan

A mobility plan aims to encourage more sustainable modes of transportation and reduce the use of private vehicles with internal combustion engines to help cut CO2 emissions. Implementing such a plan within a company is a concrete step. It is an effective way to promote alternatives such as carpooling, which reduces the number of vehicles on the road and thus maximizes the use of existing vehicles.

Choose eco-friendly freight carriers

Choosing an environmentally responsible carrier—whether international or domestic—is of paramount importance in the effort to decarbonize transportation. Whether in aviation, maritime, rail, or road transport, carriers play an essential role. That is why TK’Blue, the non-financial rating and transportation certification agency, has developed a platform specifically designed to address these challenges. This platform offers three key tools to guide you in choosing a carrier:

✅ A performance comparison tool: helping you choose the carrier that best aligns with your environmental goals.

✅ Improvement plans: to identify areas for action and progress.

✅ Assessment of carriers' energy and environmental performance.

Thanks to these tools, companies seeking to optimize their freight transportation while meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement can now do so with confidence and efficiency.

Offset Your Remaining Emissions

Including meaningful carbon offset initiatives in your transportation decarbonization strategy is an effective way to reduce your carbon footprint in this sector.

Decarbo’Solution® offers a wide range of certified offset projects, including initiatives with the “Low Carbon” label in France, as well as others certified by the Gold Standard or VCS in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Each initiative is aligned with specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), allowing organizations to select the projects that best align with their activities and have the greatest positive impact.