Carbon Mitigation Actions For The Planet, And for the Pocket

Machines are built to last. As a consumer, I expect when I invest in an appliance or a tool, it will keep working for a reasonably long time to bring a return. But to keep any machinery in good working condition, regular maintenance is needed to mitigate wear and tear. Planet earth is similar. Our fossil fuel-driven logistics systems have been working the earth hard, and there is just as much need for actions to mitigate the wear and tear that is being done and to ensure our home planet can continue to sustain us.

The logistics industry is one of the largest carbon emitters in today’s business world, and therefore having a carbon mitigation plan is an important step for logistics companies to take. This is not just for meeting a target – it is for the health of our planet.

Often, a company’s carbon mitigation plan includes a “carbon neutral” element, which is to admit that the company’s processes will still be producing carbon, but it will neutralize the carbon footprint by increasing carbon storage or by helping others to reduce their carbon output through carbon markets. According to a recent SGInnovate webinar, the voluntary carbon market is worth about $5.5 billion a year. More importantly, this same voluntary market is projected to increase to $50 billion by 2030.

There are carbon mitigation projects all over the world and organizations like Verra and Gold Standard provide carbon reduction or storage projects to help companies achieve their mitigation goals. Projects such as natural landscape restoration (like reforestation or mangrove restoration) are much touted as beneficial in terms of taking carbon out of the environment.

Another way to reach carbon neutrality is to lower the amount of carbon emitted by investing in alternative energy solutions. For instance, there is a geothermal energy generation project in the Salavatli region of southwest Turkey that generates energy for the electricity grid and thereby replaces energy generated by fossil fuels.

Beyond Your Own Emissions

For logistics companies, if you have activated a successful switch to sustainable vehicles yourself and are ahead of your industry’s regulated permissible carbon credit level, then you are likely to see big opportunities in the next 30 years to make money from your internal investments. You could play the important role of selling carbon credits to companies that need to mitigate their emissions. Better yet, these could include your less efficient competitors! A case in point is Tesla, the electric car manufacturer, which reported carbon credit sales of $518 million in the first quarter of 2021, with the majority of purchases coming from other automakers!

The lesson here is it pays to act fast to get green. Mitigating your carbon is never as good as getting rid of it from your own systems to begin with. Work today to get down your carbon emissions — for a cleaner, and possibly profitable, future.

Getting to Zero! How Changing Regulation Will Help Logistics Managers Make Greener Choices

Carbon neutrality, which means achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions, is the business buzzword du jour and many companies are touting their plans to reach this lofty goal. In 2019, Amazon famously made the Climate Pledge, a commitment to be net-zero across all its businesses by 2040. More recently, Deutsche Post DHL announced its new commitments to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Are other logistics companies in the world making similar promises and how are they planning to fulfill them?

Putting it over simply, there are two ways to achieve carbon neutrality — by removing emissions that have already been generated through carbon offsetting or by eliminating emissions from the source. As things stand today, for even the most dedicated eco warrior amongst us, it is close to impossible to be net-zero in our day-to-day lives. We commute in vehicles that emit copious amounts of carbon dioxide, we power our homes from energy grids that rely on fossil fuels, and we feed ourselves with products that are carbon-positive.

But, the journey to zero is not about what the world looks like today; instead, it’s all about what is on the horizon. Several emerging trends are clearly pointing to a net-zero (or close to net-zero) future for large logistics companies. One key development is the role of regulation and how it will push forward the change to a carbon-free logistics system. The expectation is that some regulatory actions will come about to counteract the current business environment that rewards the use of environmentally damaging fuels. More and more, greenhouse gas emissions will be become a tax liability.

Until now, the human and financial costs of pollution and climate change have not been accurately attributed to their sources. Societies have been paying for health costs linked to industrial and transport pollution, but those costs are paid in taxes that go into healthcare systems. The costs are also paid in taxes that go to cover higher infrastructure costs because of more damages resulting from extreme climates. By not accurately and directly attributing the costs of pollution and climate change to their sources, societies at large do not see the benefits to move to cleaner technologies.

As governments consider putting a tax on carbon outputs, clean fuel innovations become more attractive. So much so that Deutsche Post DHL CEO Frank Appel even told the press assembled for the carbon neutrality press conference that the world’s largest logistics company he helms would welcome a carbon tax. The belief is this will level the playing field for transport companies and it will offer competitive advantages to those that are most effective at eliminating carbon from their systems. The devil is always in the details though.

Since the Kyoto Protocol was ratified in 1997, the world has struggled to come up with an efficient and realistic means to tax carbon. Years of inaction and half-hearted attempts significantly dampened any motivation to innovate. But, European governments are now trying to change this by reworking the EU Emissions Trading System, which is a mechanism that allows companies in regulated industries to buy carbon credits to offset their emissions. In the near future, companies will likely see lower caps on allowable emissions and more stringent criteria. In addition to Europe, other countries are likely to follow suit.

So far, as the EU tweaks the system and more carbon credits are sought, impact has already been felt in the carbon trading market and the cost to offset one ton of carbon has increased to 50 euros from 20 euros just a month ago.

As governments continue to look for new ways to account for carbon costs, many logistics leaders are seeing the writing on the wall: the future is pointing at expanded carbon taxing and they are making sure to position themselves most competitively by investing in innovative technologies.

This to me, as someone who cares deeply about the climate health of our planet, is definitely welcomed news.

Why You Should Care About Biodiversity

It happens that I am writing this month’s column on Earth Day (celebrated on April 22 every year!), so I’m going to talk about a topic that’s close to my heart — biodiversity, the variation of life on Earth.

Those who know me know I am a big nature lover and always have been since my days as a boy scout. I was fortunate to have grown up in the Appalachian Mountains in eastern Tennessee, where I could enjoy fresh air, clean water, and beautiful mountain countryside. Being surrounded by such verdant green vistas can give one the impression that our home planet is healthy and flourishing, but this is not always the case when you start looking closely and seeing landscapes touched by the hand of mankind verses nature in its unaltered form. There is a big difference between the two and one way to describe that difference is to measure an area’s biodiversity.

If left untouched, a natural area generally displays a high level of biodiversity with many species of flora and fauna all trying to eek out a living alongside each other. It also means there is a natural check and balance achieved among the different species and life forms. When human activities alter this natural equilibrium by removing species or natural resources (such as fish or forests) and adding manmade elements (such as pollutants), the balance is broken and the area’s biodiversity is disturbed.

You might ask why biodiversity matters and how it concerns you. Simply put, biodiversity is essential to the healthy functioning of ecosystems, which in turn are vital for the welfare and survival of all species, including humans! One simple fact I use to illustrate just how interconnected we are with other members of our ecosystems is that one-third of the food we eat depends on animal pollinators, among which insects are essential in pollinating flowering plants. Yet, exposure to agrochemicals and habitat loss and degradation have contributed to alarming declines in insect populations in recent years. A German study found that flying insect populations have crashed by three-quarters since 1989. While most of us don’t like being pestered by insects all the time, we should remember that they do play an important role in our food security!

So what does this mean for the likes of us who work in logistics? What can someone involved with modern trade help to sustain and rebuild Earth’s biodiversity? Well, here are my suggestions:

Re-use developed land

Instead of planning projects that use undeveloped greenfields or newly reclaimed land from the ocean, companies should consider if there are areas zoned for industrial use that can be redeveloped. If government policies and local real estate environments do not incentivize this, then speak up and start asking for change. Encouraging and supporting local conservation efforts can be one way to have a say in land use and development policy changes.

Re-wild degraded land

One of the biggest culprits that causes biodiversity loss is the massive deforestation that takes place to make way for monoculture farming, the growing of one type of plant at one time on a specific plot of land. It is a particularly serious problem in Southeast Asia and the Amazon where old-growth rainforests are chopped down and in their place come palm and soy plantations.

When we get rid of natural rainforests, not only are we losing the massive diversity of flora and fauna that live within the ecosystem, we’re also losing one of the most efficient carbon sinks mother nature has to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Researchers in Malaysia have found natural rainforests can hold more than four times the amount of carbon monoculture palm plantations can; and they believe the biodiversity of trees and plants in the rainforest is the primary driver for this difference.

When companies are looking for projects and organizations to support in order to offset their carbon emissions, they should select ones that work to protect our biodiversity by rewildling degraded lands. There are many organizations that are actively rehabilitating rainforests, mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs.

Re-visit nature

Last but not least, experience the benefits of biodiversity by spending time in nature. Even in Southeast Asia, where developments are happening at breakneck speeds, there are still many nature reserves and parks where biodiversity is thriving. And with luck and support from all of us, these nature areas may continue to be protected and stand a chance to survive.

I know when I spend time in nature, I start to feel a reconnection with the real world. Maybe you too will feel the same!

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Why biodiversity is so important

· It brings stability to the physical environment

· It provides for higher carbon capture capacity

· It brings health to micro environments

· It improves our mental wellbeing