MeasuringAndManagingCO2EmissionOfEuropeanTransport McKinnon Report 24.01.2011
MeasuringAndManagingCO2EmissionOfEuropeanTransport McKinnon Report 24.01.2011
CO2 Emissions
of European Chemical Transport
Contents
Foreword 2
Executive Summary 3
1. Introduction 4
6. Conclusion 34
Biographies 36
2
Foreword
Measuring and Managing CO2 Emissions from the Transport of Chemicals in Europe
Climate change is one of the biggest challenges fac- Although there is no definitive methodology on
ing industries, governments and society. calculating carbon emissions at present, the report
provides clear guidance in key areas.
Policy makers and industry sectors across the world
are working to understand their own role and By taking a closer look at the operations of some of
required actions. Individual chemical companies are the larger chemical companies, McKinnon and Piecyk
already doing a lot of work in the area of energy are able to start to build a picture of current CO2
efficiency and innovation, recognising environmental emissions of the various transport modes. Finally,
performance alongside health, safety and security they consider some of the potential decarbonisation
as essential for business success. measures available to the chemical industry and the
possible challenges that need to be overcome to
The chemical industry is uniquely placed to enable achieve these.
energy savings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
through the application of our products, for example This Report represents the first step to understand-
building insulation and low-temperature detergents. ing how we can assess and improve our operations.
The European chemical industry has an excellent In commissioning this work, the chemical industry is
track record over many decades of improving energy taking a proactive role in improving the measurement
efficiency at its manufacturing sites. and management of transport-related carbon emis-
sions as part of its continuing commitment to safe,
To identify how we can improve the performance of efficient and sustainable logistics.
the logistics operations of the chemical industry, we
must first understand its current carbon footprint. By
developing a common understanding of how to cal-
culate this, along with related issues and challenges,
individual companies will be able to assess themselves
in a way that is comparable across the industry. Jack Eggels
Chairman
In this Report, Professor Alan McKinnon and Dr Maja Cefic Strategy Implementation
Piecyk assess a range of existing tools and theories Group Logistics
on carbon footprinting. Their review of available Cefic - European Chemical Industry Council
literature illustrates the numerous approaches and
assumptions in this area. McKinnon and Piecyk also
look at the lessons that can be learnt from what
other industries are doing.
Executive Summary 3
Executive Summary
This report examines the options for measuring We then review the published data, at both European Overall, however, the chemical industry appears to be
and reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from and national levels, on carbon emission factors for one of the most progressive sectors in its measure-
transporting chemicals produced in Europe. It is based the various transport modes used by chemical compa- ment of transport-related emissions.
on a review of literature, the results of a preliminary nies. A range of values exist for each mode reflecting
survey of large chemical companies undertaken by differences in primary data sources and assumptions Having measured these emissions, the next stage
Cefic, interviews with senior logistics managers in about vehicle load factors, fuel efficiency and type of is for companies to develop strategies for reducing
the chemical industry and a high-level workshop energy (for electrified railfreight services). Tables have them. The remainder of the report examines a range
on the subject convened by Cefic. The study also been compiled to show the range of values reported of decarbonisation measures for chemical transport
investigated the measurement of carbon emissions in published reports and data-sets. A series of aver- operations within a green logistics framework. This
from transport in other industrial sectors to see what age emission factors are then recommended for the framework focuses attention on five key parameters:
lessons, if any, can be learned by chemical companies. movement of chemicals by each of the transport freight modal split, supply chain structure (i.e. num-
modes, taking account of the particular character- ber and length of links in the supply chain), vehicle
The report begins by considering the reasons why istics of chemical logistics. In the case of trucking, utilisation, energy efficiency and the carbon intensity
companies need to carbon footprint their transport the dominant mode of chemical transport, matrices of the energy source. Opportunities for altering each
operations. It then discusses a series of key issues that are presented to show how the average emission of these parameters is assessed. Consideration is also
must be resolved when designing a carbon measure- factors vary with the weight-based loading factor and given to the general cost-effectiveness of these de-
ment system for freight transport. These include the percentage of empty running. Given the diversity of carbonisation measures. Available data suggests that
choice of approach (either energy-based or activity- waterborne freight services, separate average emis- most of the measures which cut carbon emissions
based), the definition of corporate, functional, system sion factors are provided for different types of short- also reduce costs and prove self-financing in the short
and geographical boundaries around the logistics sea and deep-sea operations. Mode-specific emission to medium term.
system to be audited, the types of greenhouse gas factors have been combined to derive composite
(GHG) and transport modes to be included in the emission factors for inter-modal freight services. The concluding section shows how, as the availability
calculation, the degree of analytical disaggregation of data on energy use, load factors and consignment
and assumptions to made about the allocation of As the European chemical industry is not alone in routing increases, the measurement of carbon emis-
emissions from the empty repositioning of vehicles trying to carbon footprint its transport operations, sions from chemical transport can evolve from the
and containers. a comparison has been made of similar initiatives current activity-based approach to a more accurate
in nine other sectors: cement, fertiliser, steel, metal and flexible energy-based approach.
cans, bitumen, wine and spirits, food, paper and
board/packaging and postal services. Several of these
sectors, such as fertiliser, packaging and wines and
spirits, have gone through a similar process to the
European chemical industry in adopting an activity-
based approach to the carbon footprinting
of transport.
4
1. Introduction
Measuring and Managing CO2 Emissions from the Transport of Chemicals in Europe
To meet the ambitious carbon reduction targets that In the meantime, companies and industry bodies can In undertaking this study we have reviewed relevant
governments are now setting for 2020 and beyond, obtain advice on the carbon auditing of transport published literature, data sets and websites. All the
individual companies and industry sectors will have to operations from government departments/agen- main estimates of carbon emission factors for Euro-
implement decarbonisation strategies over the next cies, such as DEFRA in the UK and ADEME in France, pean freight transport have been compared. In some
few years. The longer that it takes them to get onto and national standards bodies, such as the British cases hypothetical values have been inserted into on-
an appropriate carbon reduction trajectory, the harder Standards Institution and the French AFNOR. In the line carbon calculators, simulating freight movements
it will be to reach the targets. Many industry sectors absence of agreed measurement standards, however, that would be typical of the chemical industry. To gain
and companies are still at an early stage in this pro- there is a danger that individual sectors will adopt a deeper insight into chemical transport operations
cess, analysing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards and procedures that produce inconsistent and the practical problems of collecting emissions-
and exploring options for reducing them. As the old results. One purpose of this report is to examine related data and opportunities for decarbonisation,
business mantra states, if you cant measure it you the ways in which carbon emissions from freight we have conducted telephone interviews with senior
cant manage it and so the logical place to start is transport are being measured in Europe and, on that logistics managers in large chemical companies.
with detailed measurement of GHG emissions. basis, recommend a carbon footprinting procedure A workshop was also held at Cefics offices in Brus-
for chemical transport operations. sels to discuss an earlier draft of this report, which
Efforts have been made internationally to standardise was attended by logistics managers from chemical
the measurement and reporting of these emissions in Cefic has recently conducted a survey which collected companies. In this report primary data collected from
order to ensure comparability. At present there is no data on tonnages and distances moved by different the interviews and this workshop has been integrated
single agreed standard, though the two main stan- transport modes and permitted the calculation of ag- with secondary, published data obtained from other
dards developed by the World Business Council on gregate figures for CO2 emissions.This initial exercise sources.
Sustainable Development/World Resources Institute has highlighted the problems of choosing suitable
(2004) (the Greenhouse Gas Protocol) and Interna- emission factors for the various transport modes. The In assessing the range of measures that can be ap-
tional Standards Organisation (ISO 14064) are broadly present study aims to achieve three major objectives: plied to cut CO2 emissions from chemical transport,
similar. Both set out guidelines for the carbon audit- we have adopted an analytical framework developed
ing of individual businesses and provide advice on the Provide advice on measuring the carbon footprint in the course of a UK university research project called
scoping of the calculation, data collection methods of European chemical transport, in particular on Green Logistics1.
and the allocation of emissions. Neither, however, the choice of appropriate average carbon emission
provide detailed guidance on how carbon emissions factors for the different modes of transport Sections 2 and 3 of the report deal with carbon
from specific activities, such as transport, should be Review similar initiatives in other industrial sectors measurement issues, while section 4 concentrates
measured. A separate initiative by CEN, the European to see if there are lessons to learned on possible carbon reduction options for European
standards organisation, is currently developing and Identify major opportunities for reducing the chemical transport.
agreeing standards for the measurement of GHG carbon footprint of European chemical transport
1 M
ore details emissions from transport, but this process is unlikely operations
of this research project
can be found at
to be completed until the middle of 2012.
www.greenlogistics.org.
2. Measurement of CO2 Emissions 5
2. Customer request: industrial customers can ask for Energy-based approach: since almost all CO2 emis- 2 C
arbon Trust (2007)
STEP 4 estimates of the amount of carbon embedded in sions from freight transport are energy-related, the Carbon Footprints in
the Supply Chain: the
Calculation the products they buy. This is beginning to happen simplest and most accurate way of calculating these Next Steps for Business
in the retail grocery sector, though is still uncom- emissions is to record energy use and employ stan- London.
mon in the chemical industry. dard emission factors to convert energy values into 3 P iecyk, M. Carbon
CO2. The unit of energy will typically be litres of fuel Auditing of Companies,
Supply Chains and
STEP 5 3. Corporate social responsibility: carbon auditing and for trucks, diesel-hauled trains, barges and ships, and Products in McKinnon,
Verification and reporting A.C. et al (eds) (2010)
reporting is becoming a key aspect of CSR. kilowatt hours for electrified rail and pipeline. Green Logistics, Kogan
For carriers and companies with inhouse transport Page, London.
6
Measuring and Managing CO2 Emissions from the Transport of Chemicals in Europe
operations, which have direct access to the energy on carriers to provide this information, though the 2.3 Defining boundaries
data, the energy-based approach is clearly prefer- EcoTransit tool4 provides approximate routing and dis-
able. As most transport operations in the European tance data for intermodal flows specified by the user. Four types of boundary must be drawn around the
chemical industry are outsourced, however, shippers transport system to delimit the extent of the calcula-
lack direct access to this energy data. Some chemical One of the most difficult issues to resolve in applying tion: corporate, functional, system and geographical
companies have asked for this data and received es- the activity-based approach is the choice of carbon boundaries.
timates of average fuel efficiency from their carriers. emission factors for each mode. These are generally
No evidence has been found of carriers providing fuel expressed as grammes of CO2 per tonne-km. 2.3.1 Corporate boundary
consumption data on a journey-by-journey basis for This weight-based measurement of emission factors
chemical flows. The issue of obtaining fuel data from is well suited to the chemical industry as its products This determines the division of responsibility for car-
carriers is more fully discussed in a section 4.4. have a relatively high density and cause vehicles bon emissions between the company and its suppli-
to weigh out before they cube out. As a conse- ers, customers and carriers. The line should be drawn
quence, vehicle load factors in the chemical industry in a way that minimises double-counting and allo-
Activity-based approach: In the absence of energy are generally measured in weight terms. cates responsibility to the entity that has the greatest
data, it is possible to make a rough estimate of the control over the emissions. This usually reflects the
carbon footprint of a transport operation by applying One of the chemical companies consulted had allocation of financial responsibility. Whoever pays for
a simple formula: obtained fuel consumption data from some of its car- the activity should be assigned the related CO2 emis-
riers and managed to derive its own set of emission sions. For companies taking ownership of the goods,
CO2 = tonnes transported x average distance trav- factors. No general emission factors, however, have the delivery terms provide a solid commercial and le-
elled x CO2 emissions factor per tonne-km so far been calculated for chemical transport as a gal basis for allocating the transport emissions. Where
whole. It is necessary to rely, therefore, on the numer- the finished product is sold on a delivered price basis,
Company records, ERP systems and delivery manifests ous studies that have been undertaken in Europe the shipper will be responsible for these emissions as
can provide the necessary data on tonnages moved. over the past decade to estimate emission factors for far as the customers premises. If, on the other hand,
For road movements, estimates of average length of the general movement of freight by different modes. as happens with around 20-30% of chemical sales,
haul can also be based on data from these sources. If They are reviewed in section 2.5. the customer arranges collection from the plant, he
necessary, software packages such as MapPoint and must assume responsibility for the transport CO2.
Autoroute can be applied to lists of customer loca-
tions to estimate road distances. Obtaining distance The situation with carriers is more complicated and
data for rail and water-borne transport can be more requires judgement and negotiation. Where trans-
problematic, though the EcoTransit online environ- port is outsourced, the emissions fall into what the
mental assessment tool can be used for this purpose. Greenhouse Gas Protocol calls Scope 3, i.e. emissions
In the case of intermodal transport, shippers often from activities performed by other companies on
4 T his tool can be found at
the www.greencargo.com
do not know the route followed or the distance split your behalf. It is now considered good practice for
website. between different transport modes. They usually rely businesses to count these Scope 3 emissions as part
7
FIGURE 2
System Boundaries around Transport Operations for Carbon Measurement (source: NTM) 2.3.3 System boundary
SB2 Energy supply (well-to-tank/power plant) SB4: broadens the scope even further to include
emissions from the manufacture of the vehicles,
construction of transport infrastructure and their
subsequent scrappage and dismantling.
SB1 Traffic operations
- propulsion (engines/power plant)
- evaporation and battery losses SB5: also includes emissions associated with the man-
- cargo climate control agement of transport operations, essentially office
functions and the activities of staff.
It is important to apply the system boundary level a) Greenhouse gases to be included Road
consistently across transport modes. For example, it is b) Transport modes to be covered Rail
essential to include emissions from the generation of c) Degree of disaggregation by type of vehicle Inland waterway/barge
electricity for electrified rail freight operations. and power source Short-sea shipping: bulk, tanker,
At the SB1 level, only direct emissions from the d) Energy supply chain ro-ro ferry, container
electrical generating plant are included and can be e) Assumptions about vehicle load factors Deep-sea shipping
compared with fuel burned by non-electric vehicles. and empty running Pipeline
f) Nature of the product Air
g) Logistical operations at differing levels
2.3.4 Geographical boundary in the chemical supply chain Although only a tiny proportion of chemical consign-
h) Geographical variability ments move by air, they travel long distances by this
The European chemical industry serves a global mode and airfreight services have a carbon intensity
market and much of its export volume is sold on a around ten times that of road haulage.
delivered price or cost insurance freight (cif) basis, 2.4.1 Greenhouse gases
making the companies responsible for transport at It is possible to calculate composite emission factors
least as far as the foreign port of entry. While the CO2 is estimated to account for around 93-95% for intermodal transport by weighting mode-specific
main focus of the carbon measurement exercise is of total GHG potential of emissions from freight factors with estimates of the distances travelled by
on transport operations within Europe, allowance is transport. Nitrous oxide and refrigerant gases make each mode. While this can be done for individual
also made for emissions from the export of chemicals up most of the remainder. As few if any chemical flows on particular routes using online tools (such as
by deep-sea vessels and, to a much lesser extent, air consignments require temperature-control, the CO2 EcoTransit), no published data are available on the
freight. share of total GHG emission from chemical transport distance split between modes that would be required
is likely to be even closer to 100%. Furthermore, to calculate average emission factors for different
most of the published emission factors for freight are intermodal combinations at a European level. Average
expressed solely in terms of CO25. It is recommended values for this distance split have had to be estimated.
therefore that the carbon footprinting of chemical
transport also be confined to CO2.
5 A
DEME quote their
emission factors in gCO2
equivalent.
10
Measuring and Managing CO2 Emissions from the Transport of Chemicals in Europe
2.4.3 Degree of disaggregation by vehicle There is also limited differentiation of vessels moving the UK government to monitor the effects of payload
type and power source freight on the inland waterway network or by sea. In on the fuel efficiency of trucks. Over the payload
the case of maritime operations, the gross weight of range 1-10 tonnes there is a dramatic reduction in
One can either use average values for each of the the vessel is a key determinant of the emission factor. the carbon emission factor. Thereafter the rate of
main modes or disaggregate them by vehicle type Some data bases contain indicative emission factors reduction is relatively gentle as the curve becomes
and power source. The available datasets vary in the for vessels of differing gross weights. asymptotic to the X-axis. Figure 4 magnifies the
extent to which they disaggregate emission factors lower section of the curve and shows how, even
and in the classifications they use. The mode offering across this flatter section, modest changes in payload
the greatest degree of disaggregation by vehicle type 2.4.4 Energy supply chain can have a significant impact on the emission factor.
is road. This is fortunate as chemicals are predomi- Increasing the load from 20 to 26 tonne, for example,
nantly moved by road. It is possible to differentiate As discussed above, one of the main decisions that reduces the gCO2 per tonne-km from 48 to 41.5. No
the carbon intensity of heavy articulated trucks, which must be made in any carbon measuring exercise allowance is made in this calculation for the empty
account for a large proportion of the total movement is whether or not to include emissions from the running of the truck. Table 1 adds an extra dimen-
of chemicals in Europe. extraction, production and distribution of energy, sion to the calculation and shows how varying levels
in other words whether the calculations should be of empty running affect the emission factor. For a
Much less disaggregation is possible for railfreight done on a well-to-wheel basis or only take account given payload on the laden section of the journey, the
operations. The main distinction is between electri- of emissions at the point of energy consumption on level of empty running can have a marked effect on
fied and diesel-hauled freight trains, with the former the vehicle (tank-to-wheel). The emission factors the emission factor. For example, for an average pay-
further sub-divided to take account of wide differ- quoted in this report relate solely to fuel consumption load of 26 tonnes on the laden section, the emission
ences in the carbon intensity of the various forms of onboard the vehicle, except in the case of electrified factor can vary from 41.5 gCO2 per tonne-km with
electricity generation. While it is possible to obtain a rail freight operations where emissions from the gen- no empty running to 68.6 gCO2 per tonne-km when
range of emission factors for these different railfreight eration of electricity in power plants is included. 40% of the kilometres are run empty.
energy categories, it is very difficult to apply them in
practice as rail companies and intermodal operators It is much easier to assess the effects of vehicle load-
do not provide shippers with a breakdown of the 2.4.5 Assumptions about vehicle loading ing on emission factors in the road freight sector than
distance travelled or tonne-kms moved using differ- and empty running it is for other transport modes. This is partly because
ent power sources. Until this information is routinely much less research has been done on the relationship
provided, chemical companies have little choice but Average carbon emission factors are very sensitive between loading, energy use and emissions in the
to use emission factors for railfreight that reflect the to these assumptions. This is illustrated by Figure 3 case of these modes, but also because shippers often
average diesel/electric traction split for freight trains which shows how the emission factors for the move- have little knowledge of the utilisation of freight
and average mix of electrical power sources. ment of freight in a 44 tonne truck (with a 380 brake trains, barges and ships. It is possible for them to
6 M
.Coyle (2007) Effects
of Payload on the Fuel horse power tractor unit) have a negative exponential monitor the loading of trucks as well as dedicated
Consumption of Trucks
Department for Transport,
relationship with payload weight. The calculation is trains and barges leaving their sites. Where chemical
London. based on data collected by Coyle6 in vehicle trials for companies consignments are grouped with those of
11
700 load
% of truck-kms run empty
tonnes
600
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
gCO2/tonne-km
500 10 81.0 84.7 88.8 93.4 98.5 104.4 111.1 118.8 127.8 138.4 151.1
400 11 74.8 78.2 81.9 86.1 90.8 96.1 102.1 109.1 117.3 127.0 138.6
12 69.7 72.8 76.2 80.0 84.3 89.2 94.7 101.1 108.6 117.5 128.1
300
13 65.4 68.2 71.4 74.9 78.9 83.4 88.5 94.4 101.3 109.5 119.3
200
14 61.7 64.4 67.3 70.6 74.2 78.4 83.2 88.7 95.1 102.7 111.8
100
15 58.6 61.0 63.8 66.8 70.3 74.2 78.6 83.7 89.7 96.8 105.3
0 16 55.9 58.2 60.7 63.6 66.8 70.5 74.6 79.5 85.1 91.7 99.7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
17 53.5 55.7 58.1 60.8 63.8 67.2 71.2 75.7 81.0 87.2 94.7
Payload - tonnes
18 51.4 53.5 55.8 58.3 61.2 64.4 68.1 72.4 77.4 83.3 90.4
FIGURE 4 19 49.6 51.5 53.7 56.1 58.8 61.9 65.4 69.5 74.2 79.8 86.5
Relationship between Carbon Emission Factor and Truck Load (10-29 tonnes)
(based on data from Coyle 2007) 20 48.0 49.8 51.9 54.2 56.8 59.7 63.0 66.9 71.4 76.7 83.0
90 21 46.6 48.3 50.3 52.5 54.9 57.7 60.9 64.5 68.8 73.9 80.0
80 22 45.3 47.0 48.8 50.9 53.3 55.9 59.0 62.5 66.5 71.4 77.2
23 44.2 45.8 47.6 49.6 51.8 54.3 57.2 60.6 64.5 69.1 74.7
70
24 43.2 44.7 46.4 48.3 50.5 52.9 55.7 58.9 62.7 67.1 72.4
60
gCO2/tonne-km
25 42.3 43.8 45.4 47.3 49.3 51.7 54.3 57.4 61.0 65.2 70.3
50
26 41.5 42.9 44.5 46.3 48.3 50.5 53.1 56.0 59.5 63.6 68.5
40
27 40.8 42.2 43.7 45.4 47.3 49.5 52.0 54.8 58.1 62.1 66.8
30
28 40.2 41.5 43.0 44.6 46.5 48.6 51.0 53.7 56.9 60.7 65.3
20
29 39.7 41.0 42.4 44.0 45.7 47.8 50.1 52.7 55.8 59.5 63.9
10
0
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
Payload - tonnes
12
Measuring and Managing CO2 Emissions from the Transport of Chemicals in Europe
other companies in trains and vessels, however, the of loads reaching the maximum vehicle weight limit. 2.4.8 Geographical variability
overall degree of loading is not known. One must There may, therefore, be little need to apply different
then rely on estimates based on average loading of emission factors for bulk and packaged product. If The average emission factors for particular modes
these modes. There has been evidence in the past of it were necessary to do this, new empirical research vary from country to country in Europe as a result of
modal biases in the assumptions made about vehicle would be required as none of the published sets of several factors:
loading, with emission factors for some modes based emission factors currently differentiate freight by
on full loading and for others only on average load physical characteristics, other than weight. Road: nature of the road infrastructure, level of traf-
factors. It is important that the organisations compil- fic congestion, maximum vehicle weight, level of fuel
ing emission factor datasets make assumptions about taxes, climate, topography, driving styles etc.
vehicle utilisation explicit. Where they are not de- 2.4.7 Logistical operations at different
clared, caution must be exercised in using the quoted levels of the chemical supply chain Rail: % of railfreight services electrified, % of rail-
emission factors. freight electricity from low carbon sources, railway
The nature of the freight transport operation varies loading gauge, density of access points on the
A further complication exists in the case of ro-ro fer- across the chemical supply chain. At the upper end of network etc.
ries and container vessels. Estimating a carbon emis- the chain, primary producers of base chemicals dis-
sion factor for the movement of chemicals by these tribute their products mainly in bulk in volumes that Inland waterways: maximum draught, size, weight
modes requires a two-tier assessment of loading. The can fill road vehicles, barges, ships, wagons and even and age of vessels, density of access points on the
first is the loading factor of the vehicle or container whole trains. They also make relatively heavy use of network etc.
and the second the loading of the available space the lower carbon transport modes (rail, water-borne
onboard the vessel. The average emission values services and pipeline). The average carbon intensity of Some databases (e.g. Tremove, INFRAS and IFEU)
currently available for ro-ro ferries neither make this these operations will, therefore, be significantly lower contain separate average emission factors for differ-
distinction nor declare the assumptions on loading. than those of more specialist producers further down ent countries. Some countries also maintain national
the chain whose output is despatched in smaller emission inventories, based on country-specific emis-
orders to a more diverse mix of customers, some- sion factors. The range of carbon emission factors
2.4.6 Nature of the product times on road-based multiple-drop delivery rounds. currently available at country level for the various
Ideally, separate emission factors should be applied transport modes is too limited to conduct the analysis
The Cefic survey of chemical transport operations to companies at different levels of the chain to reflect an a country basis. This would also require the chemi-
asked companies to distinguish bulk from packaged these differences in carbon intensity. Simply extrapo- cal companies to provide a breakdown by country of
product. The nature of the product and its packaging lating the carbon footprint of transport operations the quantities of freight moved and average distance
will influence its density and hence the weight-based at the primary end of the chain to the industry as a travelled. It may eventually be possible to obtain all
load and emission factors. It is our understanding, whole, in proportion to tonnages or sales, is likely to the necessary country data for a bottom up analysis
however, that in the chemical industry most packaged under-estimate total carbon emissions from European of European chemical transport emissions. For the
product is also dense and results in a high proportion chemical transport. foreseeable future, however, it will be necessary to
rely on average modal emissions factors for Europe
13
current Cefic initiative to carbon footprint chemical fuel), making it difficult to compare them on a consis- appropriate, power source. In most cases these values 9 K
norr, W. and Reuter,
C. (2005) EcoTransIT:
transport operations. Some of this primary data on tent basis. By applying the tool to a sample of freight have been obtained from transport operators. The
Ecological Transport
vehicle emissions, from major projects such as MEET, movements, however, it is possible to determine the NTM calculator also gives users the option of measu Information Tool
- Environmental
PHEM, ARTEMIS and COPERT, has nevertheless been underlying emission factors using the standard gCO2 ring emissions on a well-to-tank basis (SB2) and with Methodology and Data
used to calibrate more generalised emission factor per tonne-km ratio. infrastructure-related CO2 emissions included (SB3). IFEU, Hiedelberg.
14
Measuring and Managing CO2 Emissions from the Transport of Chemicals in Europe
NTM will be releasing an updated and more refined levels of vehicle loading and empty running in France 2. Chemical companies employ the full range of freight
version of their calculator (NTM CALC 3.0) in 2010. and so may not be transferable to other countries. transport modes. Unlike in some other sectors, in
Much more data has been obtained from operators which all but a small proportion of freight moves
to permit greater differentiation by vehicle type and None of these datasets on their own provide a by a single mode, a broad range of modal emission
power source. comprehensive set of emission factors for use by factors are required for the carbon footprinting ex-
the chemical industry. They vary in their coverage of ercise. The chemical industry is also one of the few
UK freight transport modes, the extent to which they to make extensive use of pipelines as a transport
The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural differentiate by vehicle type and power source and mode.
Affairs (DEFRA) publishes guidelines10 for companies in the assumptions they make about vehicle loading
on the reporting of CO2 emissions which contain (where this is made explicit). It is necessary therefore 3. The chemical industry generates a high proportion
indicative emission factor values for several freight to cherry-pick in compiling an appropriate set of of full loads, particularly at the upper end of the
transport modes. In the case of road freight move- emission factors for chemical transport operations. supply chain where large volumes are produced
ments, different load factors are specified, though the Other sectors, such as the Wine and Spirit Trade As- and distributed. This reduces the need to allocate
updated version of this guidance in 2007 actually re- sociation, and companies, such as J.F. Hillebrand the CO2 emissions between different types of freight
duced the four levels of loading (empty, 25%, 50%, worlds largest distributor of wines and spirits, have traffic sharing the same vehicle.
75% and 100% full by weight) to only three (empty, adopted a similar approach.
50% and 100% full). 4. As transport costs represent a relatively high
proportion of product selling price, chemical
The National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory also companies are under strong pressure to maximise
contains emission factors for heavy goods vehicles 2.6 Characteristics of chemical load size and weight and thus maximise their use
and rail freight operations, though in the latter case transport operations of transport capacity. It can be assumed, therefore,
only a single average is quoted. The road freight that vehicles carrying chemicals achieve high load
emission factors for different classes of truck were In developing a system of carbon footprinting for factors.
originally based solely on laboratory test bed studies, chemical transport operations, it is important to
though now make greater use of surveys of road recognise that these operations have several distin- 5. The relatively high density of chemical products,
freight operators. guishing features: particularly at the upper end of the supply chain,
results in road vehicles reaching their maximum
10 DEFRA (2009) Guidance France 1. Almost all chemical transport, with the excep- weight limit before their volume limit. This heavy
on how to measure and The main freight emission factors used in France were tion of movements by pipeline, is outsourced. As weight-based loading of vehicles is well aligned
report your greenhouse
gas emissions London. compiled by the state environmental agency ADEME. chemical companies do not control the transport, with weight-based emission factors now widely
It publishes an Emissions Factor Manual, which is they cannot collect energy and emissions data used for freight transport (gCO2/tonne-km).
11 ADEME (2007) Emission
Factors Guide: Emission now in its fifth version11. This only contains emission directly and must rely on their carriers to provide
Factors Calculation and
Bibliographical Sources
factors for road and rail freight operations. The pub- the necessary information.
Used Version 5.0. lished emission factors for road are based on average
15
TABLE 2
2.7 Average emission factors Published Emission Factors for Heavy Articulated Truck
for the movement of chemicals by
the different transport modes organisation gCO2/tonne-km assumptions about vehicle loading
Short sea shipping operations can be divided into three Across a sample of nine deep-sea container ship- Once a set of emission factors has been agreed for
types: ro-ro ferry operations (carrying trucks and/or ping lines, Clean Cargo/BSR found the weighted individual transport modes, these values can be used
railwagons), bulk ships and container vessels. For each average emissions of CO2 per TEU-km to be around to derive composite emission factors for intermo-
of these maritime modes two sets of published emis- 93g. Assuming that the average TEU carries a load dal operations. These composite values need to be
sion factor values were found, though they are not of 11 tonnes, this yields a carbon intensity value for weighted by the relative distances travelled on each
directly comparable given differing assumptions made deep-sea container shipping of 8.4 gCO2/tonne-km. of the modes in the course of the intermodal journey.
about the vessel weight class (Table 5). There is there- (This emission factor makes no allowance for the re- Chemical companies often do not know the routeing
fore little choice in the selection of emission values positioning of empty containers.) An estimate of the of intermodal consignments and hence the distance
for shipping. An overall emission factor for short-sea carbon intensity of deep-sea tanker operations has split between the modes. One company contribut-
shipping of 16 gCO2/tonne-km is proposed. been obtained from NTM, 5 gCO2/tonne-km. ing to the Cefic survey, assumed that the average
road-rail intermodal haul was 1000 km long and
TABLE 5
that road feeder movements at both ends of the rail
Published Emission Factors for Maritime Transport line-haul would be around 100 kms long. It is not
known if these figures would be representative of
gCO2/tonne-km Source the European chemical industry as a whole and of
other intermodal combinations. One way of obtain-
Bulk ship
ing a representative value would be to survey large
Small tanker (844 tonnes) 20 DEFRA intermodal operators specialising in the movement of
Large tanker (18371 tonnes) 5 DEFRA chemicals and ask them to provide average values of
the distance splits for different intermodal combina-
Small (solid) bulk vessel (1720 tonnes) 11 DEFRA
tions. In the meantime, we have constructed a table
Large (solid) bulk vessel (14201 tonnes) 7 DEFRA showing a range of emission factors for different
types of intermodal service with the road share of
Container vessels
the total distance travelled varying from 5% to 20%
Small container vessel (2500 tonnes) 13.5 DEFRA (Table 6). Until more data is provided by intermo-
Larger container vessel (20000 tonnes) 11.5 DEFRA dal operators, we propose that a 10% road feeder
distance be adopted and that emission factors in the
Average deep-sea container vessel 8.4 BSR/Clean Cargo
second column of Table 6 be used for intermodal
(assuming mean 11 tonne load per TEU) services (bolded).
Deep-sea tanker (120,000 tonnes) 5 NTM
All Maritime 14 TRENDS
19
Relatively small amounts of chemicals move by air. intermodal combination Road distance as % of total
The Cefic survey indicated that only 0.01% of tonnes
and 0.07% of tonne-kms move by air. These are 5% 10% 15% 20%
mainly specialist polymers, samples and emergency road-rail average railfreight 24.0 26.0 28.0 30.0
consignments. Published carbon emission factors for
electrified rail (EU average) 21.2 23.3 25.5 27.6
airfreight vary widely, reflecting differences in the
length of haul and nature of the operation (Table 7). electrified rail (France) 10.0 12.8 15.5 18.2
Two sources, WRI/World Business Council for diesel rail 25.9 27.8 29.7 31.6
Sustainable Distribution and NTM, have provided
road-inland waterway 32.6 34.1 35.7 37.2
different emission factors for each distance range.
As the mean length of haul for airfreight movements road short-sea ro-ro ferry - truck 49.7 50.3 51.0 51.6
in the Cefic survey was 7000 kms, an average of the
ro-ro ferry - rail 38.3 39.5 40.8 42.0
two long haul emission factors is proposed i.e. 602
gCO2/tonne-km. small tanker (844 tonnes) 22.1 24.2 26.3 28.4
large tanker (18371 tonnes) 7.9 10.7 13.6 16.4
small bulk vessel (1720 tonnes) 13.6 16.1 18.7 21.2
2.7.7 Pipeline
large bulk vessel (14201 tonnes 9.8 12.5 15.3 18.0
The only published figure that we have been able small container vessel (2500 tonnes) 15.9 18.4 20.8 23.2
to find for pipeline appeared in a report published
by the UK Royal Commission on Environmental Pol- larger container vessel (20000 tonnes) 14.0 16.6 19.1 21.6
lution in 199414. This study assigned a value of 10 all short sea 18.3 20.6 22.9 25.2
gCO2/tonne-km to pipelines. Since then the carbon
content of electricity has reduced as a result of the
TABLE 7
switch to gas-fired stations and renewables. It is also
Emission Factors for Air Freight Transport
likely that the energy efficiency of pipeline pumping
equipment will have improved. It has been decided short haul medium haul long haul source
therefore to use a lower value of 5 gCO2/tonne-km
at present, pending further enquiries. 1580 800 570 WRI/WBCSD (2003)
14 Royal Commission on
1925 867 633 NTM (2005) Environmental Pollution
(1994) Transport and
673 INFRAS/TRENDS (2004) the Environment HMSO,
London.
20
2.8 Recommended average emission
Measuring and Managing CO2 Emissions from the Transport of Chemicals in Europe
TABLE 8
Recommended Average Emission Factors
Road transport 62
Rail transport 22
Barge transport 31
Short sea 16
Intermodal road/rail 26
Intermodal road/barge 34
Pipelines 5
Deep-sea container 8
Deep-sea tanker 5
Airfreight 602
3. M
easurement of Transport-related 21
The European chemical industry is not alone in trying cally based on simple relationships between, on the to the transport of inbound clinker being minimal as
to carbon footprint its transport operations. Other one hand, total output, sales and energy consump- cement plants are generally located beside quarries.
sectors have launched similar initiatives. It is possible tion and, on the other hand, carbon emissions. At a The Cement Industry GHG Protocol currently excludes
that the chemical industry may be able to learn from later stage, surveys of key companies in the industry off-site transport because these emissions are small
the experience in these other sectors. As part of this permit more accurate bottom-up estimation of compared to emissions from the kiln and difficult
study, therefore, a review was conducted of other CO2 emissions and some differentiation of emissions to quantify in a consistent manner. If companies
industrial and commercial sectors to examine their by activity, including transport. At first, the carbon choose to include transport-related emissions they
efforts to measure CO2 emissions from their transport auditing of transport relies on general, cross-industry are encouraged to use the WRI/WBCSD Mobile
operations. This mainly involved an online search of average emission factors, but can subsequently be Combustion Tool for this purpose. LaFarge, one of
the websites of industry trade bodies and companies, refined with the development of sector-specific emis- the largest European cement producers, estimates
combined with key word searches for reports, papers sion factors. Further evolution sees the disaggregation that its outbound distribution by road represents 5%
and presentations. Informal discussions were also of transport-related carbon measurement by industry of its manufacturing emissions, though gives no
held with logistics specialists in several industries who sub-sector and can lead to inter-company benchmark- indication of the method of calculation.
have contributed to our previous research projects. ing of carbon intensity. Most of the sectors reviewed
are currently in the early stages of this evolutionary
This review has revealed that in most sectors carbon path. The chemical industry appears to be one of
measurement is at a fairly early stage and relates the more progressive in its efforts to quantify carbon Fertiliser
principally, and in some cases solely, to emissions emissions from its transport operation and develop
from the core activity, such as primary processing, carbon reduction strategies for transport. It may, The International Fertiliser Industry Association16 has
manufacturing or packaging. Little reference is made nevertheless, benefit from adopting some of the ideas included transport and logistics in its analysis of GHG
to the carbon footprint of transport operations, and practices of other sectors. The current situation in emissions. It concedes, nevertheless, that this is diffi-
particularly in those sectors, such as cement, with a these other sectors can be summarised as follows: cult because of continuously shifting trade and trans-
highly carbon-intensive production process. Where port patterns and because trade accounts for only
industry associations or companies have published a minority of fertiliser movements. It estimates that
data on transport-related emissions, they seldom distribution represents about 3% of total emissions
disclose the methods used to derive these statistics, Cement associated with the fertiliser life cycle (this excludes
the underlying assumptions and their choice of emis- the upstream transport of raw materials). The method
15 WBCSD (2009) Cement
sion factors. The Cement Sustainability Initiative, led by the adopted by the IFIA is very similar to that of Cefic: Industy Energy and CO2
World Business Council for Sustainable Development, multiplying the number of tonnes by the number Performance: Getting the
Numbers Right Geneva.
It is possible to detect an evolutionary path in the has published a report15 on getting the numbers of kilometres and the coefficient for the appropriate
development of carbon measurement capability 16 International Fertiliser
right in measuring energy and CO2 performance. form of transport. It encourages companies to obtain
Industry Assoc (2009)
at an industry level. Initially macro-level, top-down None of the numbers in this report relate to trans- locally adjusted coefficients, in recognition of the Fertilisers, Climate Change
and Enhancing Agricultural
estimates of aggregate emissions are compiled with port, however. Carbon measurement is confined to fact that there seems to be some regional variation Productivity Sustainably
little or no differentiation by activity. These are typi- the production operation, with only a brief reference with regard to whether transport by rail and inland Paris.
22
Measuring and Managing CO2 Emissions from the Transport of Chemicals in Europe
waterway has the least environmental impact. The Bitumen (with the assistance of the Scotch Whisky Research In-
modal emission factors quoted in the IFIA report are stitute), on a life cycle basis, total CO2 emissions from
obtained from McKinnon (2007)17 and NTM. Nynas, one of the main producers of bitumen, has the production and world-wide distribution of whisky.
carbon footprinted the production operation and This has established that outbound distribution of the
upstream supply chain for this product. This includes finished product constitutes around 11% of the total.
the inbound movement of oil to their European The macro-level footprint was calculated by multiply-
Steel production facilities, but excludes distribution of the ing outbound tonnages by carbon emission factors
finished product. No details are given of the method for the different transport modes used, assuming
The World Steel Association18 provides advice to of calculation, though DEFRA appears to be the main high level modal split estimates. An emission factor of
member companies on the calculation of CO2 emis- source of emission factor values. 85 gCO2/tonne-km is used for road movements, ob-
sions and has calculated the industrys total carbon tained from the UK Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership.
footprint (1.7 tonnes of CO2 emitted per tonne of In the second phase of this project, the main whisky
steel produced). Transport of raw materials upstream producers are providing much more detailed figures
of the plant are excluded from the system boundary. Wine and spirits on the quantities of Scotch moved on different lanes
Presumably downstream distribution of finished prod- by different modes. Carriers have also been asked
ucts is included, though the WSAs CO2 Emissions The Wine and Spirits Trade Association19, jointly with to provide fuel consumption and emissions data to
Data Collection report offers no guidance on how J.F. Hillebrand, have developed a carbon calculator help to refine the calculation and reduce reliance on
the related carbon emissions should be measured. All for measuring carbon emissions from transport in standardised, cross-industry emission factors.
the published emission factors apply to production this sector. This represents an objective, reasonable
operations. and conservative assessment of emissions from one
of the most complex elements of the beverage sup-
ply chain. The calculator allows users to estimate, Food
on a lane by lane basis, CO2 emissions per litre of
17 McKinnon (2007) op.cit.
Metal cans wine transported by different transport modes, for Numerous studies have carbon footprinted the supply
18 World Steel Association bulk and packaged product and for full-loads and chains of food products on a life cycle basis. Many
(2008) CO2 Emissions
Data Collection: User Can Makers, the trade body representing manufac- groupage. The WSTA and Hillebrand indicate the have been motivated by concern about the food
Guide version 6 Belgium. turers for metal cans, commissioned consultants to sources of all the modal emission factors built into miles issue i.e. the trend to source food products
19 WSTA Logistics Group construct a carbon calculator for their supply chain their calculator. These include DEFRA, McKinnon, from more distant locations. This has focused atten-
Transport Emissions operations. This tool can be calibrated with company- the UK National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory for tion on emissions from the transport operation. Given
Carbon Calculator
London. specific emission factors or standard default values road; Tremove, NTM and INFRAS for rail and NTM, the public/government interest in this topic, much
derived mainly from DEFRA. McKinnon and Maersk for shipping. Typical payloads of this work has been publicly-funded rather than
20 Smith, A. et al (2005)
Validity of Food Miles as are also provided for wines/spirits moved by road commissioned by trade associations or companies.
an Indicator of Sustainable
Development DEFRA,
trailer or container in different countries. In a separate Studies, such as Smith et al (2005)20, for example,
London. initiative, the Scotch Whisky Association, has analysed have produced macro-level estimates of transport-
23
Paper and board/Packaging the mills to a distribution point or converter. This global mail volume, merits attention. It has estab-
provides buyers and sellers of paper products with a lished an Environmental Measurement and Monitor-
The framework for the carbon footprinting of paper consistent language and framework to evaluate and ing System (EMMS) that member organisations and
and board products was completed in 2007 and select environmentally preferable paper. The Federa- their customers can use to carbon footprint their mail
approved by the Confederation of European Paper tion of European Corrugated Board manufacturers operations, which are essentially logistical. EMMS was
Industries (CEPI)22 later that year. It defined transport- (FEFCO) which is affiliated to CEPI, has published a developed to implement a common carbon measure-
related greenhouse gas emissions as one of the ten more technical manual on the carbon footprinting of ment and reporting framework in line with customer
toes of the industrys carbon footprint. This includes this class of products. This makes no explicit reference requirements and stakeholder expectations. It scores
transporting raw materials, products and wastes to transport, though indicates that the British PAS companies carbon management proficiency on
along the value chain. The GHG calculation proce- 2050 methodology has been employed in its GHG a consistent basis using the plan-do-check-act
dure is as follows, with data coming from companies calculations. approach advocated by the International Standards
providing transport services, company transport Organisation. The IPC has set its members a target of
experts and life-cycle databases: Concern about the environmental impact of the reducing their total CO2 emissions by 20% by 2020.
growth of packaging and, in some countries the
Calculation steps: proposed introduction of taxes on packaging, has
1. Use system boundaries, cut-off criteria and stimulated research on the environmental auditing of
knowledge from other studies to decide which the packaging supply chain. A study by CE Delft23 has Summary
type of transport to include in the analysis estimated the transport-related CO2 emissions from
2. Estimate emissions associated with the selected the supply chains of a range of packaging products. There is no industry or sector which can currently be
aspects of transport This has used a series of CO2-intensity values for dif- regarded as best practice in terms of transport-related
3. If transport is used for multiple products, use ferent transport modes (78 g/tonne-km for road and carbon auditing. Some, such as fertiliser, packaging
appropriate allocation methods to identify the 34g/tonne-km for rail and inland waterway). It has and wines & spirits, have gone through a similar pro-
emissions associated with the product of interest also estimated the average length of each link in the cess to Cefic in adopting an activity-based approach
4. If needed to satisfy the objectives of the footprint, packaging supply chain within the Netherlands and to carbon measurement and surveying large member
22 CEPI (2009) Frameworks divide the emissions into categories reflecting quantities of product moving on each of these links. companies to compile the necessary base data for
for the Development of
Carbon Footprints for control macro-level estimation of CO2 emissions.
Paper and Board Products 5. Record the greenhouse gas emissions attribuable
Brussels.
to the functional unit of the product being studied Several of the sectoral initiatives outlined above, most
23 CE Delft (2007)
Environmental Indices for
in the appropriate reporting form Postal services notably those relating to fertiliser, food and paper &
the Dutch Packaging Tax board, go beyond carbon measurement and provide
Delft. For paper products an Environmental Paper As- Although the movement of mail presents very dif- advice to companies on methods of decarbonising
24 International Post sessment Tool (EPAT) has been developed in North ferent transport challenges to the distribution of their transport operations.
Corporation (2009) Postal
Sector Sustainability
America which includes a calculation of transport chemicals, a recent initiative by the International Post
Report 2009 Brussels. emissions associated with carrying product from Corporation24 (IPC), whose members handle 80% of
4. O
pportunities for Decarbonising Chemical 25
FIGURE 5
These opportunities will be examined within a Decarbonisation Framework for Freight Transport
framework developed for the Green Logistics research
project in the UK (Figure 5). This framework maps the
complex relationship between the weight of goods pro- Weight of goods
duced in an economy or industrial sector and the CO2 produced/consumed
emissions from its freight transport operations. This Similar analyses
Modal split
relationship pivots on a set of seven key parameters: for other modes
Weight of goods
Modal split indicates the proportion of freight
transported by road
carried by different transport modes. Following this Average handling factor Supply chain structure
split, subsequent parameters need to be calibrated
for particular modes. The rest of Figure 5 has been
Efficiency of vehicle routing
defined with respect to road transport. Average length of haul
Road tonnes -lifted
Average handling factor: this is the ratio of the Vehicle carrying capacity
by weight/volume
weight of goods produced by an industrial sector to
Average load on laden trips
freight tonnages loaded onto vehicles at the start Vehicle utilisation
of a journey, allowing for the fact that, as they pass Road tonne -kms on laden trips
through the supply chain, products are loaded onto
vehicles several times. The handling factor serves as Average % empty running
Level of backhaulage
a crude measure of the average number of links in a
supply chain.
Total vehicle -kms
Distribution of vehicle - kms by vehicle size, wieght and type
Average length of haul: this is the mean length of
each link in the supply chain and essentially converts
the tonnes-lifted statistic into tonne-kms. Timing of Spatial pattern Fuel efficiency
deliveries of deliveries
propriate in the chemical industry as a large propor- ing of 15% would be achieved, while in the second it 1. Short lengths of haul: it was argued that, in
tion of loads are weight constrained. would be almost 27%. chemical distribution, rail tends only to become
competitive where the length of haul is greater
Energy efficiency: defined as the ratio of distance All the companies consulted indicated that there than 400-500 kms. The threshold distance partly
travelled to energy consumed. It is a function mainly was a potential to shift more freight to rail and depends on whether the origin and/or destination
of vehicle characteristics, driving behaviour and traffic water-borne services, though some companies have are rail-connected and, if not, the extent to which
conditions. already increased their relative use of lower carbon flows have to deviate from the direct road route to
modes over the past decade. Modal shift was being pass through intermodal terminals. Many European
Carbon intensity of the energy source: i.e. constrained by several factors: chemical plants lack a rail connection.
the amount of CO2 emitted per unit of energy con-
sumed either directly by the vehicle or indirectly at the
primary energy source for electrically-powered freight FIGURE 6
operations. Impact of 2 Modal Shift Scenarios on CO2 Emissions from Chemical Transport
45
40
Current modal split
4.1 Modal split Greener modal split
35 Two greenest modal splits
its freight transport intensity. There is little prospect and 2004 on supply chain excellence in the European 26 McKinnon, A. (2004)
in the foreseeable future for these well-established Improved routing: the circuitous routing of prod- chemical industry26. They all have the merit of saving Supply Chain Excellence
in the European Chemical
geographical trends being reversed. There are, never- ucts, both at a supply chain level via intermodal termi- money as well as cutting carbon: Industry EPCA/Cefic,
theless, other measures that companies can take to nals, warehouses and tank cleaning stations, and on Brussels. Braithwaite,
A. (2005) Maximising
offset these trends and possibly reduce the industrys the road and rail networks can generate unnecessary Increase in the maximum vehicle weight: many Performance: The
Power of Supply
transport-related carbon footprint. tonne-kms. There is probably scope for optimising trucks carrying chemical products reach their maxi- Chain Collaboration
chemical transport operations at both these levels, mum legal weight before all the available deck/cubic EPCA/Cefic, Brussels.
28
Measuring and Managing CO2 Emissions from the Transport of Chemicals in Europe
FIGURE 7
capacity is occupied. A relaxation of government Factors Constraining Vehicle Utilisation
weight restrictions from 40 to 44 tonnes across
Europe would therefore permit greater load consoli-
dation. Within three years of the UK government Demand fluctuations
increasing the maximum weight limit to 44 tonnes,
61% of tonne-kms in the petrol and petroleum prod-
ucts commodity class were being moved in trucks Lack of knowledge of loading opportunities
Market-related
registered at this higher weight limit27. In estimating
the net carbon savings from greater load consolida-
tion in 44 tonne trucks, allowance would have to be Health and safety regulations
made for any erosion of chemical traffic from rail and
water-borne modes. If, however, the increase in maxi-
Regulatory
mum truck weight were accompanied by an even
Vehicle size and weight restrictions
greater increase in the weight limit for intermodal
units to 50 tonnes, as currently proposed by Cefic,
any negative impact on rail could be neutralised.
Unreliable delivery schedules
Inter-functional
Relax monthly order-invoice cycles: This was
identified in the EPCA/Cefic supply chain excellence
Just-in-Time delivery
initiative as an important efficiency improvement
measure. It would help to reduce the artificial peak-
ing of freight flows at the start of the month. The
Infrastructural Goods handling requirements
interviewees in the present study, however, differed
in their assessment of its potential benefit in both
cost and carbon terms. One company had moved to a
system of rolling credit mainly to reduce peaking and Limited storage capacity at facilities
relieve pressure on loading bays. This is also likely to
Equipment-related
have cut carbon emissions, though these savings had
not been quantified. Incompatibility of vehicles and products
27 McKinnon, A.C. (2005)
The Economic and
Environmental Benefits
of Increasing Maximum
Truck Weight: the British Poor coordination of purchasing, sales and logistics
Experience Transportation
Research part D, vol. 10,
pp.77-95.
29
Vehicle tare (i.e. empty) weight: Fuel efficiency 4.4.3 Vehicle operation 4.5 Carbon intensity of fuel
can also be enhanced by reducing this tare weight.
Use of lighter materials, such as aluminium or car- The key measures to be introduced under this head- Good fuel management also includes an assessment
bon fibre, and the removal of unnecessary fittings ing are: of the costs and benefits of using alternative fuels,
can significantly cut the tare weight. some of which, on a life-cycle or well/field to wheel
Improved driver training: It is generally accepted basis, can yield net reductions in carbon emissions. As
Aerodynamic profiling: A series of good practice that driving style is the single greatest influence on with fuel economy measures, however, the main deci-
guides and case studies (e.g. Dept for Transport, fuel efficiency. Driver training programmes have sion on whether to switch to biofuels or compressed
2007)29 have reported potential fuel savings in the been shown to improve fuel efficiency by as much natural gas will continue to rest with the carrier.
range 6-20% for improved aerodynamic styling as 8-10%. Chemical companies could significantly cut the
of trucks. In articulated vehicles, both tractor and carbon footprints of their transport operations by pri-
trailer need to be streamlined either at the time of Driver incentive schemes: To derive longer term oritising the use of rail in those countries generating
manufacture or by subsequently retrofitting with benefit from driver training, companies have to a large proportion of their electricity from nuclear and
fairings. give drivers an incentive to continue driving fuel- renewal sources, where the commercial conditions
efficiently. are favourable. It is likely, however, that they will gain
Installation of fuel economy devices: These can only limited carbon benefit from the hybridisation and
include anti-idling controls, fuel metres and speed Reducing speed limits: Imposing tighter limits on full electrification of trucks. It is operators of smaller
governors. vehicle speeds has been shown to achieve signifi- rigid vehicles that will derive most of the benefit of
cant fuel savings often with minimal increases in hybrid and plug-in technology. The heavy articulated
the order lead time. trucks, which are the work-horses of the European
4.4.2 Vehicle maintenance chemical industry, are likely to continue running on
Fleet management: This includes assigning the conventional diesel fuel for the foreseeable future.
In under-maintained vehicles there are numerous right vehicles to the right jobs. Fleet manage- Recent research for the Low Carbon Vehicle Partner-
technical defects which can prevent a lorry from ment can also be reinforced by the appointment ship in the UK suggests that, in the medium term,
operating at optimum fuel efficiency. They include of a fuel champion whose job it is to analyse the powering heavy goods vehicles with biomethane will
fuel leaks, under-inflated tyres, mis-alignment of axles pattern of fuel consumption, promote fuel saving prove a much more cost-effective means of decarbo-
and poor engine tuning. More regular and thorough initiatives and generally instil a fuel-saving culture nising long distance road haulage operations than the
maintenance cuts fuel losses associated with these in the workforce. use of biodiesel blends.
defects.
FIGURE 8
Variations in the Relative Cost-effectiveness
of Decarbonisation Measures
FIGURE 9
Cost and Carbon Savings Accruing from Improved Fuel Efficiency The direct linear relationship between cost and CO2
(fully laden 40t gross weight articulated vehicle) reductions can be easily demonstrated in the case of
0,020 60 Cost per tonne-km ()
measures which improve fuel efficiency (Figure 9).
gCO2 per tonne-km
0,018
An attempt has been made in the UK to assess the
50
0,016 cost-effectiveness, over a 3-5 year time frame, of a
range of carbon reduction measures in the freight
0,014
Cost (Euro per tonne-km)
Company A
aerodynamic
Company B trailers
fuel
cells
6 eco-driving
compressed
training
natural gas
full
low rolling hybrid
stop/start
biogas pressure
adjustment hydrogen
biofuel
(FAME)
aero
fairings
mechanical
electric
turbocompound
turbocompound
0
5 10 15 20 25
-2
CO2 emission reduction (%) Increasing Cost
34
6. Conclusion
Measuring and Managing CO2 Emissions from the Transport of Chemicals in Europe
The measurement of carbon emissions from freight The refinement of the carbon measurement process
transport operations is still at an early stage in most will help the chemical industry to develop a trans-
industrial sectors. The review of initiatives in other port decarbonisation strategy embracing the various
sectors suggests that the European chemical industry measures outlined in this report. These measures can
is relatively progressive in its efforts to carbon foot- be targeted on five key freight transport parameters:
print its freight transport operations, despite that fact modal split, supply chain structure, vehicle utilisation,
that they account for only a small proportion of total energy efficiency and carbon intensity of the energy.
CO2 emissions. At present, this industry, like others, The first two parameters are under direct control of
has little choice but to adopt the activity-based chemical companies. Responsibility for vehicle utili-
approach to measuring transport-related emissions, sation is shared with carriers, while energy efficiency
applying standardised carbon emission factors to and the carbon content of fuel is much more strongly
estimates of tonne-kms moved by different modes. influenced by the logistics provider.
It will be desirable, however, to migrate to an ener- Measures that chemical companies, and their carriers,
gy-based method of calculation using fuel consump- have introduced in recent years primarily to improve
tion data provided by carriers. This will permit much the economic efficiency of transport will also have cut
more accurate estimation of CO2 emissions. As it carbon. More research is required, however, to assess
may take several years to achieve this goal, it may be the relative cost effectiveness of a broader range of
possible, as an interim measure, to develop a refined decarbonisation measures.
activity-based approach involving closer collabo-
ration between shippers and carriers. This would From discussions with chemical logistics managers, it
incorporate into the CO2 calculation sample data on seems that there is still a reasonable amount of low
distances travelled, consignment routing, backloading hanging fruit to be harvested, which will be self-fi-
and fuel efficiency provided by carriers to permit the nancing in the short to medium term, though require
calibration of emission factors specific to the chemical some initial investment. Some of these self-financing,
industry (Figure 12). This could lead in the medium quick payback measures can be implemented by indi-
term to full operational, energy and carbon transpa- vidual companies, while others will require inter-com-
rency between shippers and carriers. pany collaboration as recommended in earlier reports
on the European chemical supply chain32.
Chapter 6 Conclusion
FIGURE 12
Possible Evolution of Carbon Measurement Process
IMPROVING CALIBRATION
tonnes tonnes
sample distance
Energy used
and energy data
distance distance
sector sector-specific
company
company-specific
product
design by www.witvrouwen.be
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1160 Brussels - Belgium
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