Setting the environmental auto supply chain benchmark

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) represents more than 800 automotive companies, manufacturers and brands, and is one of the most influential trade associations in the UK, shaping policy and legislation across the UK and Europe.

Metro is a member of key vertical trade associations, like the SMMT to be an active industry participant and to share best supply chain practice, to optimise manufacturing, assembly and despatch – to accelerate global success.

SMMT provides members with a forum to share insights on issues affecting the sector, helping them to develop strategies and build positive relationships with key suppliers and partners.

Senior Key Account Manager, Ian Tubbs, recently delivered a supply chain sustainability presentation to SMMT members and outlined the emissions monitoring, reporting and offsetting solutions developed by Metro, with reporting protocols that are in use with leading car manufacturers. 

Ian set the scene by highlighting the scale of emissions generated by sea and air freight carriage and the manufacturing of cars, and the cost of decarbonising vehicles.

He also highlighted specific actions and developments, which Metro undertake, that are making a positive environmental contribution today, including container load optimising, use of rail freight and LPG, Electric and Hydrogen fuels for commercial vehicles, and Sustainable Aviation Fuel for aircraft.

Metro was the first freight forwarder to join Air France KLM Martinair’s SAF programme, investing in the sustainable alternative fuel.

Ian demonstrated the MVT ECO module, which Metro customers can use to view live energy consumption, carbon emission and offset cost data for all their shipments, across all transport modes and trade-lanes, with easy export of data for further internal analysis.

The CO2 output in MVT ECO is calculated using the GLEC Framework, a standard already employed by Jaguar Land Rover, which was developed by the Global Logistics Emissions Council and is the only globally recognised methodology for harmonised calculation and reporting of logistics green house gasses.

MVT ECO enables monitoring and reporting of any mode of transport and goes a step further by providing offsetting and avoidance costs, with the opportunity to invest in sustainability projects, which have already attracted leading manufacturers including Ford, JCB and Toyota.

The screen-grabs below show carbon footprint reporting by month, which can be viewed by mode and trade-lane. Energy emissions can be viewed in joules, CO2 equivalent emissions in tonnes, and avoidance costs to offset emissions.

The ECO statement reports at consignment level and is fully downloadable into an easily digestible excel format to analyse offline, with multiple data points like, references, shipment dates, location or port pairings, weight, distance travelled and the emissions calculations.

It can also provide you with a partial offsetting cost in line with sustainability projects you’re looking to invest in, with a slider at the top of the page to choose how many Pounds per carbon tonne you wish to calculate.

The emissions calculator compares carbon output by mode, by inputting consignment details such as number of containers, weight in kg or tonnes, or pallets quantity and then specifying origin and destination.

The MVT ECO module is available free-of-charge to customers on their MVT dashboard, where they can view key eco statistics related to their movements, to see which areas will benefit most from emissions offsetting and where efforts can have the most impact.

To request a demo or discuss your requirements, please EMAIL Ian Tubbs.

Banner image courtesy of SMMT