International transport trade body

Supply Chain Mapping and Carbon-to-Serve® modelling

Summary

The client wanted to gain a better understanding of the environmental impact of their industry’s core freight mode on two typical supply chains and identify opportunities for improvement.

As part of the project LCP applied its Carbon-to-Serve® methodology to map and model the ‘source to shelf’ carbon emissions of two products. The project was a collaboration of several members of the international Green Logistics Consultants Group.

Project background

The client was critically aware of the challenge to reduce carbon emissions across its industry. They understood that a better understanding of the factors affecting carbon emissions across freight supply chains was required, in order to lead best practice environmental action in their industry. The client selected two typical freight supply chains to be modelled and assessed; a fruit product and cut flowers.

Working alongside two other members of the Green Logistics Consultants Group, LCP’s expertise in supply chain mapping and Carbon-to-Serve® modelling provided the measurement of the carbon emissions for the core freight mode in each supply chain. The project necessitated a clear and transparent modelling approach that would produce validated results and allow the trade body to challenge existing views and assumptions.

LCP’s Carbon-to-Serve® methodology is designed to overcome weaknesses identified by LCP in off-the-shelf carbon emissions assessment tools; which tend to give neither an end-to-end evaluation nor sufficient transparency to be able to conduct sensitivity analysis and scenario modelling.

Approach

The scope of the project covered the supply chain of two products from ‘source to shelf’; from the harvesting and packaging of the product, through to the long distance freight and distribution to retail outlets.

LCP engaged the supply chain partners responsible for each part of the chain to map the fruit supply chain. This entailed building a clear understanding of the physical flow of the product and assessing the levels of waste, time sensitivity and identifying the processes that drive carbon emissions. This provided a detailed view of the supply chain from which to recognise efficiencies that could be adopted in other supply chains and to identify opportunities to reduce carbon emissions.

LCP worked in close collaboration with the other Green Logistics Consultant Group members to source relevant carbon emissions data and evaluate the different sources of emission factors for this freight mode. The carbon emissions for the two supply chains were modelled using LCP’s Carbon-to-Serve® methodology to evaluate the impact of this freight mode.

Success factors

The collaboration with the other members of the Green Logistics Consultants Group was very successful and beneficial to all parties.

Results and benefits

The final report provided a comprehensive assessment of the environmental impact of the industry’s freight mode. The two supply chains studied provided the context to illustrate the relative impact of the core freight mode on the carbon emissions. It also facilitated the identification of opportunities and recommendations for the trade body to increase activity and collaboration with its customers to reduce carbon emissions through supply chain re-design.