As nations come together for the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP16), The Energy Collective reports that certain statistics are necessary in order to put supply chain and logistics situations into proper perspective. Given poor results at COP15 in Copenhagen and recent Congressional elections in the US, it's unlikely that any major binding agreements will be reached on setting measurable and verifiable targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions cuts for industrialized nations. In a study of more than 3,600 companies issued this fall by Deutsch Post DHL titled "Delivering Tomorrow: Towards Sustainable Logistics," it was revealed that "two-thirds of business customers believe companies will regard transportation as a key lever to reduce their carbon footprint."
"We want to take a significant step forward to improving carbon efficiency and do our part to facilitate a low-carbon economy," says Deutsche Post DHL chief executive officer Frank Appel. Other companies such as UPS and FedEx are implementing similar programs designed to optimize operations in a sustainable manner.
Large manufacturers and retailers also are taking action by stocking shelves with less harmful products. Gavin Neath, senior vice president for sustainability at Unilever, says this approach not only helps to cut costs, but also to create new products that impact the environment less. "Big companies like ours, which have very extensive supply chains reaching across all continents ... can make a difference," Neath says.
Some practitioners and policymakers have suggested that, at COP16, a binding agreement is more likely to occur when countries take ownership of their entire life cycle emissions. It's also been proposed that countries create national inventories by adopting measurement tools that follow the principles established by existing carbon-accounting methodologies. Supply-chain-wide carbon accounting at the product design, manufacturing, and distribution level is a vital ingredient to achieve this result.
Fonte: APICS The Association for Operations Management, e-News Vol. 10, No. 23, December 7, 2010.
Nota: Nos últimos dias acompanhamos as negociações e decisões (poucas) alcançadas na reunião COP16 realizada no México. A logística também tem a contribuir neste assunto, onde o desenvolvimento de operações eficientes e eficazes pode resultar no transportar mais com menos emissões (otimização do transporte). Mais um desafio para os profissionais da área!! Título traduzido: Cadeia de Suprimentos, Logística e a Conferência Climática da ONU.
Post relacionado: UPS expande programa de transporte neutro de carbono para o Brasil e outros 34 países [Portal Newtrade]
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