Transport and Logistics

Moving goods, services, and people with less fuel

Why is transport an important issue for companies?

Moving goods, delivering services and transporting people with less impact on the environment is possible even though transport is a major factor in many business operations and transactions.

The cost of transport represents a major issue for business. Whether it’s about time, cost of fuel, reliability, security and safety or regulatory compliance, business-related transport needs to be carefully considered in order to maximise efficiency and effectiveness while also reducing key environmental impacts. Climate change and atmospheric carbon is contributed to by transport (based on internal combustion technology) and is apparent in urban areas in smog and air pollution.

The socio-environmental cost of business travel is a major contribution to an organisation’s carbon footprint. Engaging with change here requires a good understanding of the function of short and long distance travel to meetings and rethinking of these requirements. Innovation in telecommunications can also increase business efficiencies while having a positive outcome related to climate change, resource consumption, human health and liveability including benefits related to mobility and equity.

What are the design-related opportunities?

Design for transport is an excellent opportunity to reduce environmental impacts. Whether it’s about packaging design or specifying modes of transport, the role of design can play a key role. In simple terms, efficiency in transport can be designed into products – flat pack furniture for example; this allows more furniture to be moved with less trips. This is designed into the product but also demonstrates the ethics and culture of a company which can then be communicated to customers.

In particular, light-weighting through EcoDesign is an unmatched strategy for minimising negative environmental issues. For example, packaging design to reduce the size and weight of packaging or designing components that nest in transport will increase transport efficiency.

Designing with local materials and using local manufacturers and fabricators can reduce the transport impacts embodied in a product. Alternatively the use of technology to minimise impacts is also possible. A possible solution is taking advantage of a widely available technology like CNC machining - a computer file can be sent to a region and local material and labour used to manufacture an object close to the customers. This could be part of the design of a whole new approach to products and services that radically reframes the need to use or move materials.

What can you do to improve transport efficiency?

• Choosing the most efficient vehicles in a class is easy now with websites that help compare vehicles (see resources below). Specify a vehicle that suits load sizes so the smallest possible vehicle is used. Smaller vehicles have less wind resistance and use less fuel.
• Alternative fuel vehicles can reduce the environmental impacts of transport; these include LPG, hybrid, hydrogen and electric cars. Bio fuels including ethanol mixes could be considered along with low sulphur diesel.
• Vehicle Maintenance: vehicles that are well maintained, tuned, serviced and running correct tire pressures will use less fuel.
• Offset the carbon impact of un-avoidable transport with a carbon offset program.
• Trip efficiency, load efficiency, route planning and back loading are all ways to get the most out of vehicle distance travelled. Regular delivery timing changes can be negotiated with customers to ensure full loads are going out. If the timing can not be changed, ensure the smallest vehicle is in use so it’s always fully loaded.
• Investigate rail transport as it is a more efficient way of moving big loads over long distances.
• Consider using communication technology such as video conferencing to replace air travel which has many environmental impacts. Scheduling of business meetings to reduce the number of meetings per year.
• Avoid peak traffic with flexible work conditions allowing employees to work from home or start and finish outside of peak hours.
• Encourage employees to cycle to work by creating cycling facilities with secure parking, showers, lockers and laundry facilities or service.
• Encourage public transport use: offer employees subsidies for public transport use or offer travel passes as part of a salary package or bonus.
• Car pooling: support employees’ car pooling to work or linking with carpooling organisations.
• Create new habits: reducing the use of air-conditioning, taking off unused roof racks or removing un-necessary loads can save fuel.
• Investigate radical alternatives: a European company has started freighting wine by sailing ship and the shipping company pursues loads that will tolerate delivery times based on favourable winds!

Who else can help with knowledge, advice and support?

Green Vehicle guide

Choosing the most efficient vehicle using this comparison data base is easy. Selecting the most efficient vehicle when purchasing will build in efficiency in your passenger transport.
www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au

Greenfleet

When you have maximised all the other efficiencies in transport you can offset the carbon produced by programs like Greenfleet which will engage in tree planting to offset vehicle and air travel.
www.greenfleet.com.au

Car sharing

Goget is a car sharing company businesses and individuals can use, paying a joining fee and cost per kilometre for the use of shared cars in Melbourne.
www.goget.com.au

Higher Productivity Vehicles Taskforce

Established by the Victorian Freight and Logistics Council to provide concise information on higher productivity equipment for the road transport industry. The task force will cover all freight tasks in Victoria, and will include vehicle emissions, fuel consumption and productivity gains.
www.hpvtaskforce.com.au

Go Rail

A website promoting the energy efficiencies and carbon savings of rail.
www.gorail.com.au

RACV “my car and the environment” page

Informative links to vehicle efficiency guides and RACV resources and policy.
www.racv.com.au

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