(Credit: XPO Logistics)A program that offers carbon offsets for the road freight shipping industry and that can be applied toward a variety of sustainability projects has been introduced by XPO Logistics.
The program uses a digital platform to track the carbon footprint of the transport and gives shippers a way to negate the impact of their freight by purchasing carbon offsets that can go toward other efficiency transitions. The technology uses the data to source capacity from a pool of more than a million trucks and captures the carbon impact information at the time a load is tendered, XPO says.
Carbon offsets to emissions calculations are automatically tracked and documented by the system. XPO says the offering is a way to have a current sustainability impact while the transportation industry transitions to zero emissions heavy vehicles, which is a slow process.
The transportation industry accounted for 29% of the United States’ greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, according to the EPA. Nearly a quarter of those emissions were from medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
While efforts to electrify the vehicles is a main priority in reducing emissions in the industry, infrastructure and the range of the vehicles remain among the obstacles to achieve those transitions. That has led to other ways to make carbon improvements in freight transportation.
Some of those efforts include using technology to help engines use biofuels like ethanol as well as programs to increase biodiesel blending and production. Companies like Hill Brothers and DHL are using technology monitoring systems and solar panels to help reduce emissions and increase energy efficiency in their trucks.
Carbon offsets are also seen as a key piece of lowering emissions in general. According to CNBC, a Bank of America report found in 2020 that carbon offsets accounted for 0.4% of the world’s total emissions and to achieve net zero by 2050 that number needed to reach 7.6 gigatons of carbon offsets or removal.
Chevron has pledged $8 billion in low carbon investments, including carbon offsets and removal, as an example of growth in the area.
Some of the programs the XPO carbon offsets can be applied to include renewable energy, such as wind and solar, gas capture from landfills or livestock, industrial emissions reduction and the use of biomass fuels. Other projects XPO mentions include waste management and forestry management, among other sustainability projects.
“Carbon investing can reduce the carbon footprint of freight movements to zero by funding sustainability projects that align with person values or corporate goals,” says Drew Wilkerson, XPO’s president of North American transportation.
