A module for “Managing CO2 emissions” from DDS Logistics

What is your freight transport chain’s impact on the environment and how can it be limited? DDS Logistics, the French leader in Transport Management Systems (TMS), has now developed a module called “Managing CO2 emissions” which can calculate the greenhouse gas emissions generated by a multi-modal transport chain. The system can also simulate and recommend the most ecological and economic transport plan, according to the cleanest, most cost-effective, time-saving and high service-quality modes of transport.

The transport sector is France’s leading consumer of petroleum products and its principal source of carbon dioxide emissions (34% of the national total), producing over 141 million tonnes in 2005!*! According to ADEME, the French environment and energy management agency, this figure has practically doubled since 1973. The main cause is road transport: in 2003 it alone generated 130 million tonnes of CO2 on French territory. “Vehicles today are more fuel-efficient and less polluting but the goods trade, in terms of volume and distances travelled, has grown significantly over the last few years. Limiting transport’s environmental impact is therefore a major challenge for the sector,” underlined Jérôme Bour, CEO of DDS Logistics. “All the more so because sooner or later the logistics chain could be considerably affected by the establishment of a CO2 emissions trading scheme …”
One solution is to give preference to combined modes of transport (rail-road, maritime, etc.), which would result in a more balanced use of the available resources, with the revitalisation of rail and the promotion of maritime and river transport as recommended by the European Commission.**

Economic and ecological simulations using the new DDS Logistics module
In a pre-emptive move, DDS Logistics has developed a module, built around DDS Shipper, its TMS for shipping companies, which can simulate and calculate the emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases (N2O, O3) from freight transport chains, regardless of the mode of transport used, and for each link in the chain: from suppliers of parts or raw materials through to factories and customers. “The aim is to enable users of our solution to select their modes of transport and service providers on environmental criteria, and to use statistics to monitor the eco-balance of transport operations,” explained Jérôme Bour. “The goal is to provide shippers with the means for choosing the least polluting freight transport plans, such as those combining rail-road or maritime transport.”
This should also satisfy users from an economic standpoint: the module can integrate cost, deadline and service quality criteria when generating the proposed transport plan. This leads to better performance in freight monitoring and management.

In brief, the module can:

• calculate CO2 emissions per type of transport used. The result is given in equivalent tonnes of CO2, as not all gases have the same effect: the contribution of a kilogram of methane (CH4) to the greenhouse effect is 21 times greater than a kilogram of CO2, and that of a kilogram of nitrous oxide (N2O) is 310 times greater. DDS Shipper therefore allocates an equivalent quantity of CO2 emitted for each t/km travelled, according to the mode of transport. The emissions relative to each mode of transport are calculated principally according to the ADEME emission factors guide and its Bilan Carbone® (a method for estimating the carbon footprint).

• calculate CO2 emissions in a multi-modal chain involving several modes of transport. The aim is to evaluate the total quantity of CO2 emitted throughout the different stages of a transport chain, for instance from the parts suppliers to the factories and on to customers, by looking at all the modes of transport used. To do this, DDS Shipper uses models of transport chains which describe the successive steps involved in an end-to-end operation.

• calculate CO2 emissions for each type of goods transported in a multi-modal chain, as DDS Shipper can track details of the quantities of different products in each shipment.

• automatically select a mode and transport plan to satisfy a combination of criteria: CO2 emissions, cost, deadline and service quality.

• compile statistics about CO2 emissions in the entire transport network, particularly to assess the impact of decisions made by the shipper in its transport plan, on an annual basis.

… as well as promoting a company’s image, products and business.