Retailers Calendar

amount of raw materials used. Efforts to increase eco-efficiency or cleaner production efforts can lead to
reduction of operational costs and better asset utilization.
Transport and Logistics Efficiency
Chapters 3,4
and 5 on
‘Enhance
Efficiency of
In-Store
Operations’
also deal
briefly with
transport
issues.
However, it is
limited to
optimized
employee
commuting
and goods
delivery. In
relation to
sustainable
supply chain
management,
we look at
trends and
opportunities
beyond
optimization.
Transport might be one of the major activities contributing to the carbon footprint of products that you sell in your
retail outlet. Some modes and routes of transportation could be adding to the energy intensity of the products. For
example, water is the most energy-efficient mode to transport goods, followed by rail, truck and airplane. (See
Box 6.4 for food miles discussion on foodstuffs)
Hence, the transport link in the supply chain involves fleet vehicle management and inbound and outbound
transportation of goods. Whether operated in-house or by third parties, the way that a delivery fleet is managed
contributes significantly to the cost and environmental impacts of transporting goods. Effective fleet management
can reduce fuel use and vehicle emissions, reduce maintenance costs and enhance customer service.
Food miles: to make the load less travelled
Food miles are the distance food travels from where it was grown to where it is purchased or consumed. The concept of food
miles implies that fuel use and CO2 emissions will be lower for food that is transported shorter rather than longer distances. It
is an attractive approach to promote local food systems because it’s easy to grasp and there is enough information to
estimate the food miles.
But would there actually be transportation fuel savings and a reduction in CO2 emissions if more food were produced and
distributed locally/regionally? The surveys point out significant savings resulting from the usage of local food systems.
Example: Food miles of apples for Des Moins supermarket (Iowa, USA)
Apples grown in Iowa and transported by truck (60 miles)- minor food miles
Apples grown in Washington (state) and transported by truck (1,722 miles)- significant food miles
Consequently, the introduction of eco-label information taking into account CO2 emissions and fuel use would provide the
consumer with a relative indicator about the transport-related environmental impact of their purchase. Still, mode of
transportation must be taken into account before assuming that fuel use and CO2 emissions will be lower for food that is
transported for shorter rather than longer distances. Thus water is the most energy-efficient mode to transport food or
other goods, followed by rail, truck and airplane. It is also vital that the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) should be used for
holistic assessment of fuel use and CO2 emissions generated for food products from farm production through consumer
purchase and use. Locally produced food might not necessarily imply lower CO2 emissions…
Example: LCA- fuel use and CO2 emissions of tomatoes consumed in Sweden
Product: tomatoes grown in Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and other countries
Consumption point: Sweden
Method: LCA – carbon dioxide equivalents per kg. of tomato compared over 20-year period
Result: Spanish tomatoes consumed in Sweden proved to have lower CO2 equivalents than those produced in Denmark, the
Netherlands, and Sweden, despite the transportation distance from Spain.
Reason: Spanish tomatoes were raised in open ground while the Swedish, Dutch, and Danish tomatoes were raised in
heated greenhouses, which expended more fossil fuel energy in crop production.
Lessons learned: need for a holistic view while assessing the food miles
Source: Piroog, Rich; Schuh, Pat: ‘The load less travelled: Examining the potential of using food miles and CO2 emissions in Eco-labels. Prepared for the
Conference on Eco-labels and the Greening of the Food Market, November 7-9, 2002
Box 6.4: Food miles discussion with regards to eco-efficiency improvements in product transport.
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