Good morning, and welcome to the latest edition of the TEG Transport Insights newsletter.
Recently, fleet operators became eligible for up to £1m of government funding to cover up to 75% of the costs of installing in-depot electric vehicle charging points. The new initiative promises to reduce the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions. It also promises to hasten decarbonisation. It does, however, appear based on the assumption that electrification is the simplest answer to our industry’s carbon conundrum. Is it time to question the rhetoric?
Electrification’s great potential
There is no doubt that, in the fight to reduce our sector’s environmental impact, electrification is key. Electric vehicles (EVs) produce fewer greenhouse gasses over their lifespans than petrol and diesel equivalents. In some cases, EVs can reduce fleet emissions by more than two thirds. Meanwhile, the UK’s Great Grid Upgrade promises to ensure more of the renewable energy we produce is actually used (at present, grid constraints see much renewable energy wasted – to avoid overloading an inadequate system).
Collaboration: cheaper, faster, better?
Despite the merits of electrification, transport companies seeking more immediate carbon reductions have a simpler, cheaper card to play: collaboration. Greater sector collaboration means fuller trucks and fewer dead miles. That means fewer journeys. And that means a carbon footprint reduction. The scale of the saving on offer is vast: greater collaboration has been shown to reduce transport emissions by more than 50%.
Sustainability… plus resilience
Enhanced collaboration comes with indirect benefits, too, in the form of insulation from volatility. When 3PLs are asset-heavy, they must fill trucks. When they are asset-light, they have fewer obligations. Collaborative, asset-light organisations are well placed to capitalise on spikes in demand. The same spikes in demand can cause partnerless 3PLs problems.
Two lanes; slow and fast
I would recommend 3PLs take note of the government’s new depot-charging initiative. I would also encourage those who find the scheme appealing to contact TEG. Better carrier collaboration offers similar benefits, and then some. And it’s far easier to implement.
