Sustainability Certification is a Must for Freight and Logistics Operators

SPAIN – WORLDWIDE – Sustainability and care for the environment have become the buzzwords of companies in all sectors and with its obvious impact and some lamentably lax practices in past decades the freight transport industry is an easy target for conservationists, a situation many throughout the world of logistics have been addressing with some vigour. This week shipping agents and global freight forwarding group Tuscor Lloyds told us how they are managing the situation in Spain, a country often regarded by neighbours as perhaps a little reluctant to adopt new cultural attitudes.

Anticipating legislative requirements that the company believes will obligate all operators in the country to measure the impact of their carbon footprint in the coming years, Tuscor Lloyds has placed itself in the vanguard of cargo carriers to ensure sustainable logistics in the Iberian peninsular. The company has already received the certification given by ISO registered Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación (AENOR) which verifies its carbon footprint, in the belief it now leads the sector in this regard. Borja Pelayo, manager of Tuscor Lloyd’s office in Madrid, explained the company’s reasoning:

“We decided to become pioneers with this certification as we strongly believe in the importance of developing sustainable and environmental responsible logistics. The carbon footprint certification is an important tool not only because it gives an accurate measure of our current emissions, but also because it gives us the reference to start with our yearly 2% reduction plan”

There are two paths to achieve this reduction: by active policies on the emission generating agents or, accepting that moving freight will always produce some emissions however minimal, offsetting these emissions by actions such as planting trees. Tuscor Lloyds Spain has developed the certification project advised by Agora Consulting and have verified the CO2 emissions of its three offices in Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia), all of its employees, including all commuting and work trips, its infrastructure, and especially, its services.

In this last respect, the carbon footprint of the entire logistics operation and the freight traffic managed by Tuscor from its origin to its destination on its principal route, Europe-México, both maritime container freight forwarding and air transport, has been certified. Furthermore, the Tuscor Lloyd’s carbon footprint project goes far beyond. According to Borja Pelayo:

“Due to upcoming regulations on this matter, we don’t want to stop here. We also want to promote the initiative together with our key customers, offering them a carbon footprint study for the services we provide them as freight forwarders”.

Photo: Borja Pelayo displays the AENOR Certificate.