The UK’s Freight Transport Association has received backing for its Logistics Carbon Reduction Scheme from the country’s Department for Transport (DfT) following an announcement this week by Lord Adonis, the Secretary of State for Transport (pictured).
 
In a letter to the FTA confirming the DfT’s support for the scheme, Adonis acknowledged the need to reduce carbon emissions from logistics, which accounts for 30% of overall domestic transport emissions, the majority coming from the road sector, as an important part of the DfT’s Carbon Reduction Strategy.
 
The scheme, which aims to report the logistics sector’s carbon footprint publicly in an effort to reduce CO2 emissions, currently has 12 members including those involved with automotive logistics. Ceva Logistics, DHL, Kuehne + Nagel and Norbert Dentressangle are among those participating. Taken together the scheme’s members are responsible for operating over 23,000 commercial vehicles.
 
Under the scheme, members are committed to submit their fuel data to the FTA for analysis to provide an accurate picture of the logistics sector’s carbon footprint. It is designed to allow government to base its carbon reduction policy on hard evidence.
 
Commenting on the support, Rachael Dillon, FTA’s Climate Change Manager, said: “We are grateful to the DfT for its support and for recognising the importance of the Logistics Carbon Reduction Scheme and its potential for identifying a credible reduction target for the logistics sector that we can all work towards.
 
“Together with the DfT we will develop a robust and consistent carbon measurement and reporting method that will be fair, accurate and eminently useful in the interests of mitigating the sector’s environmental impact.”
 
The LCRS is available to all operators of commercial vehicles. Interested companies can contact Rachael Dillon at rdillon@fta.co.uk to find out more.