The global logistics industry is growing steadily, even more so in emerging economies such as India where the manufacturing sector is booming. On the other hand, the growing concern of logistics operations contributes to global rise in emissions. As MIT puts it, freight transportation is already one of the world’s biggest sources of greenhouse gases, and its emissions are predicted to only grow.

Climate change is real, and so is the need to use technology to reduce the road transport industry’s carbon footprint. In fact, as per an MIT estimate, if significant steps are not taken in this direction, then the logistics sector would become the most polluting industry in the world. The need of the hour is to have efficient mobility of not just the people, but also of goods and materials, to enable sustainable social and economic development globally.

Road transport accounts for 62 per cent of all the logistics emissions even when almost 75 per cent of the global cargo movement is through ships. The reason is that trucks emit up to 100 times more CO2 than ships. However, the positive side of this equation is that there is adequate access to smart technologies such as AI, machine learning and data analytics to address the challenge. Alongside switching to greener fuels, integration of cutting-edge technologies in road transport can bring down emissions even when the demand is increasing.

Using data and GPS to create optimum routes: Trucks burn a lot of fuel when travelling on longer and poorly maintained roads. Sometimes, the drivers prefer to stick to a known route despite a shorter and faster alternative exists. This is where advanced GPS and data-analytics are helping turn things around. A mix of real-time traffic data, weather updates, and longer-term averages such as time taken, average speeds, etc., are factored in to determine the routes that will deliver maximum fuel and time efficiency. Intelligent route modelling alone has the potential of reducing a sizable percentage of emissions per vehicle per trip.

AI to optimise vehicle utilisation: A big drawback of manual road transportation is the common occurrence of trucks running empty or partly utilised. There is stiff competition for loads. Instead of waiting for the right load, most truckers tend to pick up what they get, especially on their return journeys. However, with smart AI-powered logistics platforms, there is not only access to a much larger number of transporters and shippers across India, but also automated vehicle-load matching on the return route. For shippers, this optimised vehicle matching means that they would need to hire fewer vehicles to ferry their loads. With reduced empty vehicle operations through intelligent demand-supply matchmaking on the return route directly reduces emissions and makes logistics more sustainable.

Improving vehicle performance: Poorly maintained vehicles can cause more pollution. Integration of Internet of Things (IoT) sensors can enable truckers to monitor the performance of the vehicles in real time. Mileage, speed, time spent and that wasted on longer or circuitous routes are all factors that can be analysed. This makes it possible to undertake a predictive analysis of the vehicle’s performance and forecast when it will require service. Such efficiencies of operations have a direct bearing on cutting-down emissions and ensuring sustainability.

Conclusion
As per IEA, in 2021 global CO2 emissions from the transport sector rebounded by 8 per cent to nearly 7.7 Gt CO2 as pandemic restrictions were lifted globally. Even with anticipated growth in transport demand in India and across the world, following the net zero scenario requires transport sector emissions to fall by about 20 per cent to less than 6 Gt by 2030. So, bringing down the transport industry’s carbon footprint is as critical today as expanding the capacity and efficiency of logistics operations. Any growth that comes at the cost of sustainability can backfire eventually, and that’s why the logistics industry needs to urgently revamp itself. Usage of an integrated logistics platform that provides the right technologies and tools to optimise operations and reduce carbon footprint should no longer be a choice, but a mandatory requirement.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Vikas Chandrawat, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer (CPO) at Vahak.