CEVA demands industry collaboration for sustainable logistics

JOC Staff |
Berlin, Germany - 21 October 2010 - John Pattullo, CEO of CEVA Logistics, one of the world's leading logistics companies, today appealed to the industry to work together to establish global standards for sustainable logistics during the 27th German Logistics Congress in Berlin. In his presentation on ‘Supply Chain Greening – the awkward truth’ Pattullo pointed out that the logistics market sector was accountable for over 5% of all greenhouse gas emissions and called for collaborative industry action.

In recent years many countries have issued environmental legislation targeting businesses. However, following Copenhagen, we still have no global agreement or clear global targets. Since consistent state regulations are not to be expected anytime soon, all those involved within logistics need to work collectively to develop globally accepted regulations, said John Pattullo.

Pattullo highlighted that the complex network of regulations is currently an obstacle for logistics companies in establishing a sustainable supply chain. Voluntary agreements to reduce emissions are only active in some regions of the world and the logistics industry would therefore clearly benefit from cooperation with competitors, peers and customers to develop consistent global guidelines for a sustainable supply chain management.

Sustainable logistics is not necessarily a management top priority, and in today’s economy, many customers are unwilling to pay a premium for green transport. Despite these obstacles the logistics industry must support change towards sustainable services. Pattullo said.

A founding member of the Alliance for European Logistics (AEL), CEVA is currently working collectively with other global players and policy makers to develop consistent regulations for the transport and logistics sector. The initiative is financing research and transport related efforts to effectively and efficiently reduce CO2 emissions.

In the recent past we were able to considerably improve the achievements of our customers through 'green' procurement and innovative solutions along the entire supply chain. CEVA will further increase the measurement of CO2 consumption at the base level. Ultimately, we are committed to working together with our customers and peers to agree a consistent and business case based approach, Pattullo concluded

CEVA - Making business flow
CEVA Logistics provides world class supply chain solutions for large and medium-size national and multinational companies across the globe. As an industry leader, CEVA offers customers complete supply chain design and implementation in contract logistics and freight management, alone or in combination. CEVA’s integrated global network has facilities in over 170 countries and more than 46,000 employees; all dedicated to delivering consistently excellent operations and supply chain solutions. For the year ending 31 December 2009, the Group reported revenues of €5.5 billion. For more information, please visit www.cevalogistics.com