Analysis of the environmental impact from transportation

1. Define scope and limitations of the study
Decide which transport to include, for example the transport of raw materials and products. Include all different kinds of product and raw material transport between the company and the customer even if they are combined with different means of transportation. Other kinds of transportation may also be included, e.g. employees’ journeys to work and business journeys.

2. Define a preliminary list of Environmental Performance Indicators (EPIs)
Define a preliminary list of EPIs. Consider what type of quality assured data that may be obtainable about transportation. See example of EPIs for transportation.

3. Prepare a questionnaire for transport companies
Prepare a questionnaire for transport companies and carry out a survey. Note that a short and simple questionnaire is more likely to result in sufficient answers from the transport company.

4. Collect inventory data
Collect inventory data for all transport of raw materials and products, e.g. tonnage, distance, means of transportation etc. Logistic departments can usually assist with data. Use for example an Excel sheet for documenting and working with inventory data.

5. Calculate transport distances
Look up distances by using internet tools, e.g.  ViaMichelin web site for land transport or MariTimeChain.com for sea transport.

6. Collect data on energy use and emissions
Collect data on energy use and emissions from different means of transportation. If specific data on energy use and emissions from different means of transportation collected during the survey among transport companies is missing or impossible to use, use instead generic data from NTM (the Network for Transport and the Environment) web site.

7. Calculate total emissions and energy use
Calculate total emissions and energy use for transport of goods. Use for example an Excel sheet for the calculations.

8. Compare the transport emissions to other emissions                    Collect data on emissions related to production processes. Make some research at SCB or municipality websites to find out the magnitude of emissions in for example the local area, the region and in the whole country. Compare the emissions generated from transportation to these emissions to account for the significance of the environmental impact from transportation.

9. Analyze and draw conclusions from the result
What means of transportation is responsible for most environmental impact? Is the environmental impact from transport significant from a local and a global perspective? Is it possible to change the means of transportation for a certain group of raw materials or products? Are there other possibilities of improving the environmental performance of transportation?

10. Prepare EPIs
Define and calculate EPIs. Bear in mind the type of information that may be interesting for the company according to corporate and business unit policies and future provisions in licenses issued by authorities. Decide how to follow-up the EPIs on a yearly basis. See example of yearly follow-up. Set objectives for next year. Identify possible improvements.

11. Write a report
See example of a report for a transport study performed by Akzo Nobel Surface Chemistry, Cellulosic Specialties.

Experiences