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DB Schenker at forefront as green standard for freight moves closer

A global standard framework on greenhouse gas reporting in freight transportation took another step closer this month. A first draft of the standard approved in April was presented to about 80 political and industry representatives on November 15 in Brussels.

Leading logistics services provider DB Schenker was among the first signatories and, as a participant in the official launch, emphasised the necessity of advancing the standardisation process. This would provide important reporting components for the complex freight transportation industry that could be established along the entire supply chain and result in uniform emission reporting. DB Schenker anticipates that further anchoring this work in the already existing EN 16258 standard and its development into a corresponding ISO standard would provide the necessary framework.

The recent Memorandum of Understanding on a joint data sourcing cooperation signed by the EcoTransIT Initiative and the GLEC/Smart Freight Center is viewed as an important milestone in the implementation of the standard. EcoTransIT World is a global program for reporting energy consumption and emissions for all freight transport modes. In the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC), companies and industry groups work together to advance the framework conditions needed for the uniform reporting of CO2 emissions in the freight transportation industry.

Since 2006, DB Schenker has been campaigning for an industry-wide reporting and the corresponding standardisations for greenhouse gases in the freight industry. Milestones include the development and publication of EcoTransIT World in 2010 and the company’s participation in the development of DIN EN 16258 regarding the reporting of greenhouse gases in the freight and passenger transportation industries.

“For DB Schenker, the mutual exchange and comparison of accounting methods is essential,” explained Andrea Dorothea Schön, responsible for climate protection and CO2 controlling at DB Schenker. “This also includes other important alignments, for instance regarding air freight emissions allocation. A great deal depends on the responsible cooperation of actors along the supply chain. We continue to provide our best efforts on this matter.”

DB Schenker has already co-developed a guideline on reporting truck emissions for the future DIN standardisation process that will be adopted at the end of the year.