Delivering Green – Leading companies are making changes to put us on a more sustainable path while cutting operational costs

Freight transportation accounts for 15 percent of  corporate carbon emissions, making it one  of the largest sources of business-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the U.S.

And carbon emissions from freight transportation are on pace to grow 40 percent by 2040.

To illustrate what is possible in becoming more environmentally responsible while reducing costs, a project sponsored by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) allowed researchers from the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics to work alongside three US companies to help them quantify the carbon footprint of some of their logistics initiatives.

Boise Inc.
Boise Inc. launched two initiatives to improve their logistics operations and environmental performance.

In the Carload Direct Initiative, Boise switched from using a combination of rail and truck to send products to one of its customers, OfficeMax, to sending shipments exclusively by train.  Both Boise and OfficeMax facilities are directly accessible by rail, so the two companies collaborated to make the switch. More than 200 carloads were shipped via rail direct from Boise manufacturing facilities to OfficeMax distribution centers in 2011.

Taking efficiency to the next level, Boise launched a Three-Tier Pallet Initiative to increase the volume of products in each rail shipment. Prior to this project, railcars were loaded two pallets high, leaving a space from the top of the second pallet to the roof of the railcar.  The company introduced a half-pallet size to take advantage of the extra space in rail cars. This increased railcar utilization by 14 percent and also provided the customer greater order flexibility.

Both initiatives have resulted in a combined 62–72% reduction in the company’s CO2 emissions, as well as cost savings on those shipments. Click here for the complete case study.

Ocean Spray
Ocean Spray also launched two initiatives—distribution network redesign and intermodal shift from road to rail—that in combination led to a 20% reduction in transportation CO2 emissions, while achieving comparable cost savings across the transportation network.

The Ocean Spray case illustrates that an improved and more efficient distribution network can result in significant CO2 emissions savings while cutting costs because the same drivers impact both: miles and fuel efficiency. Click here for the complete case study.

Caterpillar
Caterpillar identified two key areas that would reduce costs and carbon emissions: packaging and consolidation of shipments.

Caterpillar assembles heavy-duty mining trucks and it used steel containers to get inbound shipments of supply parts. By switching to lighter weight plastic containers, it saw not only fuel savings but side benefits like easier handling and ability to standardize shipment sizes.

The switch led to an annual reduction potential of 130 tons of CO2 emissions across the Caterpillar North American network. Additionally, by identifying the ideal balance between environmental impact and profitability, clustering inbound shipments allowed for an additional reduction of 210–530 tons of CO2 emissions.

Click here for the complete case study.

To find out more about the case studies, view the webinar or contact Dr. Edgar E. Blanco, Research Director, Carbon Efficient Supply Chains Research Project, MIT CTL, and co-founder of the LEAP consortium.

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