The impact of alternative routeing and packaging scenarios on carbon and sulphate emissions in international wine distribution

There is a large body of research related to carbon footprint reduction in supply chains and logistics from a wide range of sectors; however the decarbonisation of freight transport is mostly explored from a single mode perspective and at a domestic/regional level. This paper takes into account a range of alternative transport modes, routes and methods with particular reference to UK wine imports from two regions: northern Italy and Southeast Australia. The research examines supply chain structures, costs and the environmental impact of international wine distribution to the UK. A number of options are evaluated to calculate the carbon footprint and sulphate emissions of alternative route, mode, method of carriage, and packaging combinations. The estimation of CO₂e emissions incorporates three main elements - cargo mass, distance and method of carriage; sulphate emissions are derived from actual ship routes, engine power and operational speeds. The bottling of wine either at source or close to destination is also taken into consideration. The key findings are: there are major differences between the environmental footprint of different routeing and packaging scenarios; the international shipping leg almost always has a much larger footprint than inland transport within the UK except in the hypothetical case of the rail shipments from Italy using flexitanks. With reference to sulphate, the lowest cost scenario among the sea maximizing options is also the sulphate minimising solution.     

Assessing carbon footprint and energy efficiency in competing supply chains: Review - Case studies and benchmarking

This article compares the energy consumption and CO₂ emissions of supply chains in Belgium, France and UK looking in particular at, jeans, yogurts, apples, tomatoes and furniture. We use a generic methodology that allows comparability across the supply chain of products, supply chains, and countries. Our benchmarking show relatively high emissions for maritime transport and the consumer leg, while logistics activities such as storage and road freight exhibit relatively low emissions. The influences of distance, retail type, area density and consumer behaviour are also examined.     

Green supply chain network design to reduce carbon emissions

We consider a supply chain network design problem that takes CO₂ emissions into account. Emission costs are considered alongside fixed and variable location and production costs. The relationship between CO₂ emissions and vehicle weight is modeled using a concave function leading to a concave minimization problem. As the direct solution of the resulting model is not possible, Lagrangian relaxation is used to decompose the problem into a capacitated facility location problem with single sourcing and a concave knapsack problem that can be solved easily. A Lagrangian heuristic based on the solution of the subproblem is proposed. When evaluated on a number of problems with varying capacity and cost characteristics, the proposed algorithm achieves solutions within 1% of the optimal. The test results indicate that considering emission costs can change the optimal configuration of the supply chain, confirming that emission costs should be considered when designing supply chains in jurisdictions with carbon costs.     

Carbon dioxide emissions from port container distribution: Spatial characteristics and driving factors

Port carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in China have become an ever-increasing public concern due to their significant impacts on human health and the environment. However, existing studies focus mainly on CO₂ emissions from vessels calling at the ports and cargo handling within the ports, paying little attention to the inland distribution networks. To fill this gap, this paper proposes an easily implemented method for calculating CO₂ emissions from port container distribution (PCD) and investigates their spatial characteristics and driving factors. By analyzing 30 container ports in China, the main findings are as follows. First, road transportation is the major contributor of CO₂ emissions from PCD due to the lack of rail and inland water transportation. Second, PCD carbon emissions exhibit significant local spatial clustering. That is, ports with similar geographical locations tend to present a similar pattern of PCD carbon emissions. Third, as suggested by the spatial Durbin model, PCD carbon emissions are negatively determined by local gross domestic product, number of port berths, but are positively determined by local tertiary industry value and highway freight volume, and waterway freight volume in both local and neighboring ports. These results provide empirical insights into cross-port collaboration in reducing PCD carbon emissions.     

Towards a global CO2 calculation standard for supply chains: Suggestions for methodological improvements

Improving the efficiency and sustainability of supply chains is a shared aim of the transport industry, its customers, governments as well as industry organisations. To optimize supply chains and for the identification of best practice, standards for their analysis are needed in order to achieve comparable evaluations. This need for an evaluation standard also applies to CO₂ emission calculations. This research focuses on the transportation within supply chains and possible approaches towards a global standard for calculating its CO₂ emissions. In the recent past, several organisations, national and international, have come forward with possible methods, tools and databases for the calculation of CO₂ emissions along supply chains, but almost all of them do not cover the entire transportation chain. Also standards for CO₂ emissions of products and production in general do exist but they do not take the particular requirements of transportation into consideration. Therefore a global standard specifically for transportation could not yet be introduced. The EN 16258 standard is the only international standard for emission calculation of transportation in supply chains. It was therefore analyzed as a possible starting point for a global standardization approach. Analysis shows it too contains gaps and ambiguities which render comparisons of supply chains difficult. These gaps of the EN 16258 are analyzed, followed by suggestions for methodological improvements for their closure. The research concludes with an outlook on next steps needed towards a global CO₂ calculation standard for transportation within supply chains.     

Sustainable cold supply chain management under demand uncertainty and carbon tax regulation

Increasing awareness of sustainability in supply chain management has prompted organizations and individuals to consider environmental impacts when managing supply chains. The issues concerning environmental impacts are significant in cold supply chains due to substantial carbon emissions from storage and distribution of temperature-sensitive product. This paper investigates the impact of carbon emissions arising from storage and transportation in the cold supply chain in the presence of carbon tax regulation, and under uncertain demand. A two-stage stochastic programming model is developed to determine optimal replenishment policies and transportation schedules to minimize both operational and emissions costs. A matheuristic algorithm based on the Iterated Local Search (ILS) algorithm and a mixed integer programming is developed to solve the problem in realistic sizes. The performance and robustness of the matheuristic algorithm are analyzed using test instances in various sizes. A real-world case study in Queensland, Australia is used to demonstrate the application of the model. The results highlight that higher emissions price does not always contribute to the efficiency of the cold supply chain system. Furthermore, the analyses indicate that using heterogeneous fleet including light duty and medium duty vehicles can lead to further cost saving and emissions reduction.     

The longer and heavier vehicle debate: A review of empirical evidence from Germany

This paper aims to evaluate the likely effects of the adoption of Longer Heavier Vehicles (LHVs) from the perspective of logistics service providers (LSPs). The research consists of six case studies and a survey of companies which were involved LHV trials in Germany. Wider introduction of LHVs is being increasingly demanded so that road freight transport can better serve and support modern supply chains whilst achieving the desired eco-efficiency advancements. Available literature on LHVs puts a particular emphasis on five factors that need to be included in the assessment of their impact: energy efficiency, CO₂ emissions, costs, safety and infrastructure. The research provides an original and innovative empirical study refining and validating the current conceptual framework for assessing LHVs demonstrating it is a valuable tool and providing evidence that the vast majority of companies participating in our study, regardless of their size, were interested in the adoption of LHVs. However, it should be noted that a key limitation of the research is that by focusing on a single country case, the nature and scale of the findings may not reflect practice in other countries and sectors. There is also a need to examine the long-term sustainability of the improvements made.     

Assessing the energy and greenhouse gas emissions mitigation effectiveness of potential US modal freight policies

This paper estimates the total embodied energy and emissions modal freight requirements across the supply chain for each of over 400 sectors using Bureau of Transportation Statistics Commodity Flow Survey data and Bureau of Economic Analysis economic input-output tables for 2002. Across all sectors, direct domestic truck and rail transportation are similar in magnitude for embodied freight transportation of goods and services in terms of ton-km. However, the sectors differ significantly in energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and costs per ton-km. Recent pressure to reduce energy consumption and emissions has motivated a search for more efficient freight mode choices. One solution would be to shift freight transportation away from modes that require more energy and emit more (e.g., truck) to modes that consume and emit less (e.g., rail and water).Our results show there are no individual sectors for which targeting changes would significantly decrease the total freight transportation energy and emissions, therefore we have also looked at the prospect of policies encouraging many sectors to shift modes. There are four scenarios analyzed: (1) shifting all truck to rail, shifting top 20% sector mode choice, (2) based on their emissions, (3) based on a multi-attribute analysis, and (4) increasing truck efficiency (e.g., mpg). Increasing truck efficiency by 10% results in similar energy and emissions reductions (approximately 7% for energy and 6% for emissions) as targeting the top 20% of sectors when selected based on emissions, whereas selecting the top 20% based on availability to shift from truck results in slightly less reductions of energy and emissions. Implementing policies to encourage higher efficiency in freight trucks may be a sufficient short term goal while efforts to reduce truck freight transportation through sectoral policies are implemented in the long term.     

Framing the Nexus of Globalisation,Logistics and Manufacturing in Europe

Abstract

Under the ongoing influence of globalisation, supply chains have changed significantly. New logistics and manufacturing systems have emerged, causing longer transport distances and increasing transport emissions. The existing research into the sustainability impacts of freight transport has largely viewed it as being a macro-level economic and political phenomenon and has ignored the interdependencies amongst micro-level economic actors, including firms and businesses in the private sector. In this paper, we presume that the lack of conceptualisation of freight transport in relation to wider institutional contexts and firm behaviour results in the lack of a holistic approach to understanding freight governance in the face of globalisation. We argue for the use of institutional economic geography lenses to elucidate the distribution networks of emerging logistics and manufacturing practices and its implications for freight transport. We illustrate our argument through a broad look at the European logistics and manufacturing practices and global production.     

Simulating deep CO2 emission reduction in transport in a general equilibrium framework: The GEM-E3T model

Transport sector restructuring to achieve deep GHG emission cuts has attracted much attention because transportation is important for the economy and inflexible in greenhouse gas emission reduction. The aim of this paper is to simulate transition towards low carbon transportation in the European Union until 2050 and to assess the ensuing macroeconomic and sectorial impacts. Transport restructuring is dynamically simulated using a new transport-oriented version of the computable general equilibrium model GEM-E3 which is linked with the PRIMES-TREMOVE energy and transport sectors model. The analysis draws from comparing a reference scenario projection for the EU member-states up to 2050 to alternative transport policy scenarios and sensitivities which involve deep cutting of CO₂ emissions. The simulations show that transport restructuring affects the economy through multiple channels, including investment in infrastructure, the purchasing and manufacturing of new technology vehicles, the production of alternative fuels, such as biofuels and electricity. The analysis identifies positive impacts of industrial activity and other sectors stemming from these activities. However, the implied costs of freight and passenger transportation are of crucial importance for the net impact on GDP and income. Should the transport sector transformation imply high unit costs of transport services, crowding out effects in the economy can offset the benefits. This implies that the technology and productivity progress assumptions can be decisive for the sign of GDP impacts. A robust conclusion is that the transport sector decarbonisation, is likely to have only small negative impacts on the EU GDP compared to business as usual.     

Impacts of trade related sustainability strategies on freight transportation: Modelling framework and application for France

The circular and functional economies are being presented in the literature as potential strategies for future sustainable societies. In terms of the consequences for supply chains, they will promote a much more dispersed and diversified, local and network based usage of goods than the current economy, which is comparatively linear, concentrated, long distance oriented and scale economy based. A gap in the literature is the assessment of the effects of these systems on freight transport flows. In our paper, we present a first attempt at estimating this impact using freight transport scenario building and quantitative modelling. In order to translate the main parameters that characterize these systems into factors determining freight transportation volumes, we develop a framework based on a typology of goods categories describing functional and spatial proximity between producers and consumers. In order to simulate changes in the economy, we develop scenarios for the shifting of goods from one category to another and, additionally, include internalization policies that should guide their realization. We calculate the impacts on freight flows using a new interregional transport model for France that includes distribution chains and produces estimates of external costs of transport. Our results show that circular and functional economies could lead to a 2–5% reduction of air pollutant emissions and up to a 14–26% reduction if combined with the internalization of external costs. The scenario with ongoing mass production for differentiated demand is found to lead to a 5% increase of environmental impacts compared to the baseline.     

Economic valuation of Well-To-Wheel CO2 emissions from freight transport along the main transalpine corridors

CO₂ emissions are one of the main externalities related to freight transport. Their evaluation is extremely difficult, due to the presence of several scientific and economic uncertainties. This paper discusses the approaches currently adopted by literature to deal with CO₂, proposing a methodology based on a Well-To-Wheel quantification and an economic valuation deriving from a meta-regression. A freight transport analysis is then provided for one of the most critical areas of Europe, the Alps. Here, the different approaches adopted by the single nations determine divergent results in terms of modal shift towards rail and, consequently, CO₂ emissions. An integrated and transnational strategy could lead to better results, avoiding detoured traffic and increasing the share of railway traffic. To this aim, the carbon impacts of three specific alpine-wide measures are evaluated: namely, Alpine Crossing Exchange, Emissions Trading and Differentiated Toll System. In comparison with business-as-usual scenario, the case study reveals a potential CO₂ saving up to more than 600,000 tons and 38 M€ for the year 2030, thus providing policy makers with an integrative transnational tool able to evaluate the long-term carbon impact of their transport decisions.     

Modal split in offshore supply network under the objective of emissions minimization

We study modal split under the objective of emissions minimization in the transportation of cargo from centralized vendors in the oil and gas industry to decentralized supply bases on the Norwegian coast. The supply network includes direct road transport and a sea route along the coast. To gain insight into modal split decisions between road and sea transport from the shipper’s perspective multi-period mixed integer optimization models are formulated. Particularly the models give possibilities to examine how weekly demand patterns at supply bases, cargo commitments to sea transport, storage possibilities at supply bases, and shipper’s responsibility for a certain share of vessel capacity may effect the emissions and the modal split. Experiments on real data from an oil and gas company operating offshore show that the size of the share of vessel capacity and the possibility for storage at supply bases are the major determinants for a larger shift to environmentally friendly sea transport. The models can be used as means for making decisions regarding how a shipper can commit to sea transport to achieve less emissions.     

Estimating transboundary economic damages from climate change and air pollution for subnational incentives for green on-road freight

Subnational incentives to adopt zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) are critical for reducing the external economic damages posed by transportation to air quality and the climate. Few studies estimate these damages for on-road freight, especially at scales relevant for subnational policies requiring cross-border cooperation. Here, we assess the damages to US receptors from emissions of air pollutants (PM_2.5, NO_x, SO₂, NH₃), and greenhouse gases (CO₂, CH₄, N₂O) from medium and heavy duty freight trucking, and the benefits of ZEV adoption by census division in the Province of Ontario. We develop an integrated modelling framework connecting a travel demand model, a mobile emissions simulator, and a regression based marginal damages model of air pollutants and climate change. We estimate $1.9 billion (2010 USD) in annual cross-border damages, or $0.16/VKT, resulting from scaled up atmospheric emissions from a ‘typical day’ of medium and heavy duty truck traffic volume for Ontario in 2012. This implies approximately $8000 per truck per year in damages, which could inform an economic incentive for emission reduction. The provincial goal of 5% ZEV adoption would reduce GHG emissions in 2012 by 800 ktCO₂e, yielding $89 Million (2010 USD) in cross-border benefits annually, with air quality co-benefits of $83/tCO₂e. This result varies between −19% and 22% based on sensitivity analysis for travel and emissions models, though economic damages are likely the largest uncertainty source. Such advances in subnational scale integrated modeling of the environmental impacts of freight can offer insights into the sustainable design of clean freight policy and programs.     

Carbon emission from urban passenger transportation in Beijing

Urban passenger transport significantly contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions, especially in developing countries owing to the rapid motorization, thus making it an important target for carbon reduction. This article established a method to estimate and analyze carbon emission from urban passenger transport including cars, rail transit, taxis and buses. The scope of research was defined based on car registration area, transport types and modes, the stages of rail transit energy consumption. The data availability and gathering were fully illustrated. A city level emission model for the aforementioned four modes of passenger transport was formulated, and parameters including emission factor of electricity and fuel efficiency were tailored according to local situations such as energy structure and field survey. The results reveal that the emission from Beijing’s urban passenger transport in 2012 stood at 15 million tonnes of CO₂, of which 75.5% was from cars, whereas car trip sharing constitutes only 42.5% of the total residential trips. Bus travel, yielding 28.6 g CO₂, is the most efficient mode of transport under the current situations in terms of per passenger kilometer (PKM) emission, whereas car or taxi trips emit more than 5 times that of bus trips. Although a decrease trend appears, Beijing still has potential for further carbon reduction in passenger transport field in contrast to other cities in developed countries. Development of rail transit and further limitation on cars could assist in reducing 4.39 million tonnes CO₂ emission.     

Atmospheric Emissions from Shipping: The Need for Regulation and Approaches to Compliance

Shipping has traditionally been viewed as the least environmentally damaging mode of freight transport. Recent studies have increasingly questioned this perception, as attention has focused on both the greenhouse gas emissions (mainly CO₂) and the emission of health-damaging pollutants (such as sulphur, nitrogen oxides and particulates) by ships. This paper reviews the available evidence on the atmospheric emissions of shipping. It proposes that the profit objective has prompted the pursuit of greater fuel efficiency within the sector, but that reliance on market forces alone is insufficient to deliver on the environmental imperative. The paper outlines the current and planned regulatory regime for the atmospheric emissions from ships and posits that greater, and more diverse, market regulation is required. Alternative general approaches to regulatory compliance are categorised as ‘alternative sources of energy’ or ‘abatement technologies’ and the characteristics of a range of specific options are analysed. The paper concludes that although the shipping industry has been slow to improve its environmental credentials, a combination of regulation and technological innovation provides it with significant potential to dramatically reduce its environmental impact.     

Determinants of modal choice in freight transport

In the next few years, exciting developments in the field of freight transport are likely to occur. The Channel Tunnel will be perceived as giving railways much greater distance of operation, compared to the current train ferry to/from Great Britain. The further development of swap-body technology will allow easier modal transfer and the creation, in 1992, of a single market in Europe will transform the pattern of trade. All of these are likely to have significant impacts on modal choice, and hence modal split, in freight transport. Reappraisal by many firms of the modes of transport used is likely but will it result in a net transfer of freight from road to rail and, if so, to what extent? To answer such questions, an accurate and reliable method of predicting modal split is required. Research in the past has concentrated on the development of modal split models based on generalised costs. These fail to explain adequately the prevalence of road freight in the UK. From surveys of freight managers within industry, it is clear that models to date rely too heavily on the economic cost factor and too little on behavioural factors (Jeffs 1985). This paper derives from a recent study of freight transport modal choice from the standpoint of the transport decision-maker within the firm. It attempts to shed light on the actual parameters which should be incorporated into a modal split model. Many variables appear to exert an influence on modal choice decision-making process. However, it is possible to categorise them into six main groups, namely: customer-requirements; product-characteristics; company structure/organisation; government interventions; available transport facilities; and perceptions of the decision-maker him/herself. It is the interactions and inter-relationships between these which ultimately determine freight modal split. This study has shown that the relationship between the outcome of the transport decision process and the values of particular determinants of modal split is not straight-forward, due to the complexity and variety of interactions involved. Perhaps one of the main reasons for researchers' failure hitherto to develop a successful modal-split model has been the preoccupation with techniques that rely on the development of common metric (e.g. generalised cost), which has led to the exclusion of some important explanatory variables along quite different dimensions. Another important issue concerns the appropriate level of aggregation. In order not to reduce the explanatory power of the key variables, it is important to work at a disaggregate level, although this does make substantial demands on data. The use of factor analysis enables both the aggregation of information without loss of behavioural reality and the specification of variables in terms of a common metric. In conclusion, freight transport has usually been examined within too narrow a framework. It must be placed firmly within the context of the total industrial process. The demand for freight transport is directly influenced by the level, composition and geographical distribution of production and consumption activities. Freight flows are complex and so it is highly unlikely that a universal mode-choice model can ever be developed. Future research should, therefore, be directed towards developing partial models in response to specific needs of those involved in decision-taking in the freight sector.     

Accelerating the transformation to a low carbon passenger transport system: The role of car purchase taxes,feebates, road taxes and scrappage incentives in the UK

The transition to a low carbon transport world requires a host of demand and supply policies to be developed and deployed. Pricing and taxation of vehicle ownership plays a major role, as it affects purchasing behavior, overall ownership and use of vehicles. There is a lack in robust assessments of the life cycle energy and environmental effects of a number of key car pricing and taxation instruments, including graded purchase taxes, vehicle excise duties and vehicle scrappage incentives. This paper aims to fill this gap by exploring which type of vehicle taxation accelerates fuel, technology and purchasing behavioral transitions the fastest with (i) most tailpipe and life cycle greenhouse gas emissions savings, (ii) potential revenue neutrality for the Treasury and (iii) no adverse effects on car ownership and use.The UK Transport Carbon Model was developed further and used to assess long term scenarios of low carbon fiscal policies and their effects on transport demand, vehicle stock evolution, life cycle greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. The modeling results suggest that policy choice, design and timing can play crucial roles in meeting multiple policy goals. Both CO₂ grading and tightening of CO₂ limits over time are crucial in achieving the transition to low carbon mobility. Of the policy scenarios investigated here the more ambitious and complex car purchase tax and feebate policies are most effective in accelerating low carbon technology uptake, reducing life cycle greenhouse gas emissions and, if designed carefully, can avoid overburdening consumers with ever more taxation whilst ensuring revenue neutrality. Highly graduated road taxes (or VED) can also be successful in reducing emissions; but while they can provide handy revenue streams to governments that could be recycled in accompanying low carbon measures they are likely to face opposition by the driving population and car lobby groups. Scrappage schemes are found to save little carbon and may even increase emissions on a life cycle basis.The main policy implication of this work is that in order to reduce both direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from transport governments should focus on designing incentive schemes with strong up-front price signals that reward ‘low carbon’ and penalize ‘high carbon’. Policy instruments should also be subject to early scrutiny of the longer term impacts on government revenue and pay attention to the need for flanking policies to boost these revenues and maintain the marginal cost of driving.     

Service-cost tradeoffs for carload freight traffic in the U.S. rail industry

Railroad technology permits a single train to move a large number of individual freight cars. However, cars which are not in dedicated unit train or intermodal service experience considerable delay due to the consolidation and breakup of trains. Rail operations thus involve a tradeoff between the economies of shipment consolidation, and the resulting delays. More direct and/or more frequent train connections will increase costs, but reduce transit times. This article quantifies the cost of providing a range of transit times for general carload traffic for several representative U.S. rail systems. It shows that significant reductions in transit time will require a large increase in the number of train connections and operating cost. Changes in labor contracts to reduce train crew cost will provide some incentive for higher service levels, but reductions in crew cost alone cannot be expected to dramatically improve the performance of the carload segment of the industry.     

A model to design a national high-speed rail network for freight distribution

High-speed rail is often touted as a means to reduce congestion on the United States’ highways by removing passenger car traffic. But highway congestion can also be reduced by reducing the amount of freight traffic. So, given the advances in high-speed rail, the potential exists for developing a national high-speed network for freight distribution. To design such a network considering highway traffic and transit times, we present an uncapacitated network design model with a post-processing step for the capacity constraint. To illustrate how our modeling approach could be used by policy makers to evaluate the impacts of a high-speed rail network, we apply our models with preliminary data on high-speed rail operating parameters for freight applications and from current data on shipments from a major truckload carrier and the US Census Bureau.