Adapted from the 2022 “State of Green Business,” published earlier this year by the GreenBiz Group. Download the report here.
Transporting goods from Point A to Point B has long been a polluting process, thanks to the dirty petroleum-based “fuel fuel” used to power most ocean-going ships, the energy and carbon world of aviation and more old fuels and technologies. And, alongside the two, the trucks and trains that move things on terra firma. All are major sources of carbon pollution, not to mention other problematic air and water emissions. And everyone was pressured to change.
Finally, those changes may be on the way. A truckload of technologies, partnerships and global agreements are putting solutions, some of them decades old, on the fast track, or at least faster. Combine this with corporate and government procurement commitments that have fueled demand for greener logistics options, along with increasing regulatory pressure to decarbonize the transport sector, and you have the makings of a disruptive change.
This change could be seen last fall during the “Transport Day” at COP26, in Glasgow, Scotland. Among the pledges: Nations accounting for 40 percent of aviation emissions pledged to support aviation emissions targets aligned with the Paris Agreement. Twenty member airlines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) True Zero target initiative committed to using new technologies, such as electric, hydrogen and hybrid aircraft, to reduce aviation’s climate footprint. The Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance, which launched earlier in 2021, added members in its efforts to bring together the purchasing power of fuel buyers to spur purchases of cleaner jet fuel. Yet another group of large companies joined an initiative launched by the WEF called the First Movers Coalition. It focuses on eight sectors, including shipping, aviation and trucking, which are considered to be among the most demanding to transition to zero emissions. And nearly 20 nations have committed to developing shipping routes with zero emissions between ports — so-called “green shipping corridors” that will act as testbeds for emerging technologies.
Following the climate technology plan
As these initiatives amply demonstrate, deregulation of logistics involves the interplay of technologies, policies and market developments: the combination of accelerating the development of new fuels and propulsion systems, implementing regulations and policies and stimulating demand, which also unlocks both public and private capital. It’s a recipe for success that we’ve seen many times before in climate technology powering everything from solar power to electric vehicles to green chemistry innovations.
Get sustainable aviation fuel, a replacement for the conventional diesel fuel that powers most planes. It’s been around for years, rising along with a market share that is, well, a drop in the bucket. But over the past two years, major companies that fly millions of miles a year — including Bank of America, Deloitte, JPMorgan Chase, McKinsey, Microsoft, Netflix and Salesforce — have pushed airlines to use more of this low-emission fuel in operations them, sending the necessary demand signals to the market.
These fuels — which can be produced from a variety of feedstocks, including used cooking oil, agricultural residues and municipal solid waste — are the most promising short-term aviation decarbonization solution, given their potential to reduce up to 99 percent of GHG emissions on a lifetime-cycle basis compared to conventional jet fuel, as of 2021 report by McKinsey and the WEF. Aviation accounts for about 2 percent of global carbon emissions, although the industry is committed to decarbonizing by mid-century or sooner.
Or take the ocean liners that deliver many of the goods we buy, from carpets to auto parts. They are also being redesigned to run on cleaner fuels or even partly on wind power.
Today, marine shipping fueled by heavy fuel oil produces about one billion metric tons of climate pollution annually—about as much as all of America’s coal-fired power plants combined—accounting for 3 percent of global carbon emissions. Cargo ships also produce 10 to 15 percent of the sulfur oxide and nitrous oxide emissions manufactured worldwide.
In October, a group of companies announced a first-of-its-kind effort to convert all sea freight to zero-carbon fueled ships by 2040. Amazon, IKEA, Michelin, Patagonia and Unilever were the first to sign on a statement facilitated by Cargo owners for zero emission ships.
Some critics would like to see these initiatives brought together. More than 50,000 merchant ships carry about 80 percent of the world’s trade, and the volume of ocean-borne cargo is expected to grow as much as 130 percent by 2050. Last fall, a coalition of “environmental and public health advocates, scientists, experts shipping and buyers”. launched proactively Ship It Zeroa campaign to push major retailers — Amazon, IKEA, Target and Walmart were on the initial hit list — to commit to shipping products on zero-emission ships by 2030;
Exemption from carbon-intensive transport, too
Carbonization of trucks is also picking up speed. And there, the range of solutions varies, from low-carbon fuels to electrification.
In the United States, more than 70 percent of goods spend time inside a truck, according to the American Trucking Association, whose industry is responsible for nearly 7 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Trucks are notoriously difficult to dry because the batteries needed to power them add significant weight, not to mention require valuable recharge time.
But electrification efforts continue, with battery-powered big rigs expected from Daimler, Volvo, VW and Tesla in the coming years. The research company Wood Mackenzie expects the number of electric trucks on U.S. roads to grow from 2,000 in 2019 to more than 54,000 by 2025. And some of those trucks are going a long way toward solving autonomy anxiety: Tesla’s upcoming Semi, for example , reportedly has a range of more than 600 miles, a respectable feat for most truck drivers.
What about existing trucks? They can also be charred. Remora, is commercializing a technology that reduces emissions from long-haul trucks by absorbing carbon dioxide directly from the exhaust. Another startup, Aid has converted thousands of diesel vehicles to renewable fuels. If they succeed, Booster, Remora and other innovators could allow existing fleets to keep rolling for years, rather than having to trade in electrified models.
Across the transport spectrum, promising fuels and technologies may just be bridges to even cleaner and emission-free logistics. For example, despite all the efforts aimed at helping sustainable aviation fuels gain altitude, they may eventually give way to electric and hydrogen-powered planes, at least for shorter flights.
Similarly, alternatives to fossil fuels for ocean-going vessels could be partially replaced by newer technologies. Last August, Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company, he said he would import eight large container vessels that operated on methanol and established a new facility in Denmark to produce the approximately 10,000 tonnes of carbon-neutral e-methanol these ships will need. Could wind cargo ships sail far back?
Key players to watch
First Movers Coalition — launched at COP26 by the World Economic Forum, seeks to create demand for low-carbon approaches to shipping, aviation and trucking, among other technologies.
Maersk — its historic purchase of eight “carbon neutral” ships could set a new standard for zero-emissions shipping.
Remora — Retrofit exhaust for long-haul trucks could be a game-changer in reducing emissions from existing vehicles.
Smart Merchandise Center — works with the global logistics community for efficient and zero-emission global freight transport.
Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance — this group of companies and airlines launched an initiative last fall to promote investment in sustainable, high-integrity aviation fuels and accelerate the transition to net-zero emissions aviation.