Supply Chains Taking Action

Each year, a list of 75 supply chain companies that are showing a real commitment to going green are spotlighted in an Inbound Logistics report. Here’s a snapshot of 10 major players from the most recent report:

• Americold—In 2020, the company invested more than $8.4 million in sustainability projects, including LED lights and rooftop systems that harvest rainwater.
• DHL—The company has pledged to invest more than $8 billion in green initiatives to halve its emissions by 2025 and reduce all of its logistics-related emissions to zero by 2050. Investments include electric vehicles and green warehousing technologies.
• Evergreen Line—The company optimized its cargo ships’ sailing speed and fuel consumption by using weather navigation information and load stability calculations. It also installs scrubbers in the fleet to reduce sulfide.
• FedEx—Seeking to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2040, the company has invested more than $2 billion in electric vehicles, carbon sequestration and sustainable energy. FedEx is converting its entire fleet of delivery trucks to EVs by 2040.
• iGPS Logistics—The company’s plastic pallets are recyclable and weigh 35% less than wooden pallets. Consequently, for every 100,000 pallets shipped, about 20,000 pounds of greenhouse-gas emissions are avoided.
• J.B. Hunt Transport Services—By converting to greener vehicles, the trucking giant cut its emissions by 3.4 million metric tons in 2020. The company also eliminated about 6,112 metric tons of emissions last year by using automated software to optimize freight utilization.
• Maersk—The company has reduced its greenhouse-gas emissions per container moved by 46% since 2008. Maersk’s first carbon-neutral vessel will be launched in 2023, and all future ships will have the ability to run on carbon-neutral fuel.
• Marten Transport—In addition to reducing idling time and optimizing freight usage, the company has installed solar panels for all 14 of its terminals and bought lithium power bank batteries for its California terminal.
• XPO Logistics—The company is partnering with Daimler Trucks to test that manufacturer’s battery-electric trucks in California. In Europe, XPO added 85 new vehicles that run on liquefied natural gas this year, bringing its total fleet to 225.
• UPS—In addition to deploying alternative-fuel vehicles and using computer algorithms to optimize routes and save fuel, UPS has planted more than 1.3 million trees around the world.