Carbon accounting platform Greenly believes that the sustainability of supply chains must be monitored from start to finish in order that companies involved in the logistics process can ensure that their claims to be green are demonstrable.
Measuring the energy usage by your own company, Scope 1 emissions, is comparatively simple. As are Scope 2 emissions, that is emissions from rented properties, and energy used to operate heavy equipment such as central heating or air conditioning.
That said, however, more complex issues emerge around Scope 3 emissions, that is emissions created by companies within your supply chain but outside of your company’s control.
Scope 3 emissions can be up to five times as high as both Scope 1 and 2 emissions combined. That makes the carbon accounting process of the Scope 3 emissions critical to the sustainability claims of major companies. And visibility of supply chains is the only way that a retailer can be certain of its own green credentials.
Given the vastly increased focus on the environment and decarbonisation from global bodies and the expectation that the green transition will necessarily raise costs, the requirement to understand where those costs can be mitigated is critical for all those involved in production.
The efforts made by businesses to achieve sustainable supply chains are effectively constricted by the suppliers they choose and how well they manage supply chain visibility.
Only through technology can such levels of supplier visibility and control be achieved and maintained within the supply chain. Technology such as Traxens latest internet of things (IoT) device the Traxens-Box 3 which has an extended battery life of seven years, twice as long as previous devices, and will offer monitoring, including door-opening alerts to clients.
“As an innovative technological company, Traxens feels it's important to start as early as possible to adapt to our customers' future sustainable supply chain needs,“ said Cedric Rosemont, CEO of Traxens. “With the expectation that supply chain sustainability will become increasingly important in the coming months, the early adopters of visibility technology will gain a competitive advantage,” stressed Rosemont.
Addressing food waste is crucial for achieving sustainability goals. Efforts to reduce food waste can have positive ripple effects on resource conservation, climate change mitigation, biodiversity preservation, social equity, and economic efficiency. Implementing strategies such as improving food storage and transportation, educating consumers, optimizing supply chains make a substantial difference in promoting sustainability and creating a more responsible food system.
It is widely acknowledged that significant food loss and waste occur throughout the supply chain, from production to consumption. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), approximately one-third of the food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally, amounting to a whopping 1.3 billion metric tons per year. This includes losses occurring at various stages, including post-harvest handling, transportation, storage, and distribution.
As such, governments have moved to protect food supply chains. The FAO has also agreed to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), an intergovernmental treaty signed by more than 180 countries, to protect plants and food production around the globe.
Given that geopolitical events, including the war in Ukraine have altered the patterns of delivery for foods, including the substantial reduction in some of the world’s staple foods such as wheat and vegetable oils, there is a critical need to reduce food losses.
A key component of sustainable logistics is ensuring that perishable goods, such as food stuffs, are transported at the correct temperature and humidity. Supply chains and IoT systems can play a critical role in preventing food and crop waste, through the monitoring and reporting capabilities and the state-of-the-art technology that allows supervising operators to respond to the changing conditions and prevent losses.
In conclusion, efforts to make supply chains more sustainable can only bear fruit, if you’ll excuse the pun, with real-time shipment data providing insights as to what is happening during shipment. If stakeholders can react to events rapidly at any point in the supply chain, that will allow for less waste in both financial and natural resources.
