Carbon reduction scheme on course to meet target

Published: February 01, 2012

Companies taking part in the Freight Transport Association's voluntary Logistics Carbon Reduction Scheme (LCRS) are on course to meet their greenhouse gas reduction emissions target, according to the industry body's second annual report of the scheme.

The report states that group members managed to reduce the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions per vehicle-kilometre by 2.6 per cent, and the FTA's target to reduce the carbon intensity of freight operations by 8 per cent by 2015 is on course.

The LCRS is managed by the FTA and is an industry-led approach to reducing carbon emissions from road freight by recording and reporting reductions in CO2 emissions. It is free to join and has been given support by transport minister Mike Penning. Logistics operators that join will help contribute to a voluntary carbon reduction target for the industry, and the results of any contributions made will be recorded in an annual LCRS report showing the industry's efforts to reduce emissions to Government and key stakeholders.

The scheme, which is open to all commercial vehicle operators, started in December 2009 and now has 59 leading businesses operating over 56,000 commercial vehicles. These include Tesco, Asda, Eddie Stobart, Bibby Distribution, Ceva, DHL, Kuehne+Nagel, Sainsbury's and Menzies Distribution.

These participants provide fuel usage data to the FTA that is then converted into carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2 e) emissions using Government approved conversion factors. The amount of carbon dioxide emissions that result from fuel combustion in commercial vehicles is then calculated. Data is then aggregated, and the FTA reports totals and tracks improvements in fuel efficiency and emissions over time. Changes in freight CO2 emissions are then reported in absolute terms and also relative terms to take into account changing business conditions that affect emission levels.

James Hookham, managing director of policy and communications at the FTA commented: "Pressures on businesses during the current tough trading times have not deterred Scheme participants from continuing their investment of time and money into a wide range of carbon saving techniques. Our goals for 2012 are to continue and maybe accelerate this promising trend."

In late 2012, the Department for Transport (DfT) will review the progress of the logistics sector's emissions reduction, and assess whether the freight industry is delivering sufficient carbon savings to help contribute to national greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. The LCRS will be taken into account in this review to gauge the progress that is being made.