How Retail Consolidation Supports Sustainability

(Updated 5/5/2022)

While Earth Day has recently passed, companies and consumers need to be conscious about the environment year-round. Finding the balance between meeting all logistical needs efficiently, and reducing emissions to ensure sustainability, is crucial. It is important for businesses to align their sustainability efforts to make a concerted impact that also allows consumers to feel good about the companies they choose to do business with. On top of focusing on the various emission type reductions, there are programs such as Retail Consolidation Services that further attribute to sustainability alignment.

With Sustainability in Mind, What are the Types of Emissions Businesses Must be Concerned About?

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there are three scopes to evaluate emissions.

“Scope 1 emissions are direct greenhouse (GHG) emissions that occur from sources that are controlled or owned by an organization (e.g., emissions associated with fuel combustion in boilers, furnaces, vehicles).

Scope 2 emissions are indirect GHG emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat, or cooling.“

Scope 3 emissions indirectly impact a company’s value chain and result from assets not owned by the reporting company. These emissions often account for most of a company’s total GHG emissions.

Source: WRI/WBCSD Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard (PDF) (152 pp, 5.9MB), page 5.

Sustainability Alignment and Reduction in Emissions

GEODIS takes environmental efforts and overall Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) very seriously. EcoVadis, one of the world’s leading CSR rating agencies, ranked the environmental efforts by GEODIS at 90/100. This score is more than double the average of its competitors. GEODIS has a sustainability goal of reducing its carbon footprint by 30% below our 2017 levels by 2030.

GEODIS established the Oxygen Project in 2010 in its effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The project is structured around measurement, reduction, partnerships, and solutions. GEODIS carries out an annual global carbon inventory that includes measurements of direct and indirect emissions (scopes 1, 2, and 3). The goal is to reduce GHG emissions and improve GEODIS’ carbon efficiency. GEODIS developed partnerships with major subcontractors to reduce indirect emissions (scope 3). Lastly, GEODIS supports clients and assists them in reducing their carbon footprint.

The Retailers that GEODIS works with have conscious sustainability goals, which GEODIS works hard to align with. This alignment benefits the customers bottom line through efficiency and benefits the world in a time where being conscious about the environment is more critical than ever.

Target has goals to reduce its absolute Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 30% below 2017 levels by 2030. They also commit that 80 percent of their suppliers will set science-based reduction targets on their Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2023. In 2020, they have already reduced scope 1 and 2 emissions by 26.7% since 2020.

Walmart’s objective is to target zero emissions in its own operations by 2040. They look to reach 100% renewable energy by 2035. They also work with suppliers to avoid one gigaton of GHG from the global value chain by 2030. Since 2017, their suppliers have already reported a total of more than 416 million metric tons of avoided emissions.

CVS looks to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 67% by 2030 after already meeting their goals of reducing it by 36% from a 2014 base year. Additionally, they aim to reduce their absolute Scope 3 emissions from purchased goods and services by 14% by 2030 from a 2019 base year. In 2020, they eliminated 500,000 in empty miles through their backhaul program.

Walgreens has pledged to achieve total net zero emissions by 2040, including net zero Scope 2 emissions by 2030 and Scope 1 by 2035. In 2021, they have reduced their global carbon emissions from baseline of 2019 by 14.9%.

How Does the GEODIS Retail Consolidation Program (RCS) Reduce Emissions?

One of the ways GEODIS helps clients decrease their emissions is through improving and optimizing their routes. GEODIS also help to reduce emissions by using cleaner trucks and cleaner fuels. Through the RCS program, GEODIS clients have seen a 10.3% average reduction in carbon emissions.

There are more touchpoints and stops with standard LTL shipments, resulting in greater fuel consumption. With the RCS program, GEODIS consolidates your shipments with other brands going to the same location to streamline travel with more direct routes while using cleaner trucks and fuels, thus reducing emissions. 

Through the RCS program, GEODIS had $790k in fuel savings, 49k hours of reduced driver time, and 400+ Tons of Co2 reduction. GEODIS looks forward to continuing to sustain and improve these numbers. We have created an emissions calculator to calculate Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollutant emissions of freight transport chains. Our goal is that companies will utilize this for benchmarks to maximize efficiency and sustainability as GEODIS strives for the same. 
 

For more information or to subscribe to our Retailer Consolidation Services, click here.