The Green Corridor: Leadership for a Green Future

by Timothy Foote, Director Transportation & Network APAC at Asendia and Founder of Susymbio

Who are the leaders in business driving the world forward to an emissions free logistics future? I started to consider this and then realised that there are several types of leaders that come to my mind. I started to think about the people really driving technology, the organisations that are making the green future into reality and how can logistics professionals help each other to move to a green future faster. 

Tech Leaders Bringing Our Future Forward

There are many new technologies currently making revolutionary change that is decarbonising the logistics sector. For our land transport (the largest polluter at present), this is really important because it has been monopolised by the internal combustion engine for a very long time. Attracting attention and investment for moving EVs from dreams to the highways, one can point to tech leaders like Tesla. Leaders like this demonstrate that investment in new tech does get financial results. It also demonstrated to the market that traditional oligopolies of the auto industry can make room for new entrants. Indeed, Tesla is not alone in proving that new entrants can emerge, but they can also survive. Others like Nicola and Nio (to name just a couple) have all sprung up and continued to grow.  

Just as important are leaders like BYD’s Wang Chuan Fu. This firm may have started out with gas burning motors, but they have transitioned completely into the EV juggernaut of Asia. It’s not just compact cars either. BYD has shown that EVs are able to replace the combustion engine for large trucks, small vans, and all sorts of heavy moving vehicles used for commercial uses. 

By not shying away from the new technology, other traditional combustion companies are also trying to make the transition. Daimler, Volvo, Peterbilt along with a few other brands in competition with BYD are making the electrification of our industry an actual reality. 

Leaders that Move the Industry Forward

Making the technology is one thing, but buyers of the technology are absolutely required. This is where other logistics leaders come into play. 

Being an early adopter to decarbonise takes real guts from real leaders. And believe it or not our logistics industry does have them. Three things though seem to be required for these early adopters. Number one they need to have a comfortable degree of market share and even dominance. Next, they need to have access to large amounts of capital so that they can invest in new technologies when the tech is in its infancy. Lastly, the guts and will to move forward in a typically short-sighted returns-oriented shareholder corporate world. 

It’s great to see postal operators, ports, city services and other public/private logistics providers take on the roles as early adopters in their communities. In the purely private sector, it is the large companies with vision for the future that have stepped up. In past articles, I’ve mentioned some of these logistics leaders. In my annual roundup and predictions from 2023, you can read about some of the actions and initiatives in the various sectors. Major competitors like the various ocean alliances are actually working together to move the bar for lower emissions.
If you are working in the position of an early adopter, then your experiences and management of how to best use the clean transport systems of the future are very valuable to others. Here again, leaders have stepped up. I’ve seen articles where trucking firms provide others in the industry with tips on how best to manage EV charging and scheduling. I’ve seen studies published by Mistui OSK Lines on how wind power reduces emissions. Sharing like this is always beneficial. It helps bring the costs of operations down further. It also gives other leaders in the industry substantial reasons to invest in new technology.

What if you are not an Early Adopter? 

Other logistics companies that have to compete for low margins in a crowded competitive service environment may not have the competitive room or access to capital as others in our industry, but we can have the will for change. Keeping an eye out for the opportunity to support low emissions logistical solutions is one thing that we can all do. Additionally, pressing for industry wide regulation to lower total emissions will allow more incentive for industry wide adoption (which keeps competition equal for all at the same time). 

A logistics professional who incrementally lowers emissions is a leader. Even if the impacts are not dramatic, working with colleagues to lower emissions fosters the attitudes needed so that when there is an opportunity to make larger emission reductions, the organisation on the whole will support a transition. 

So, just to conclude, leadership is there for our industry to press forward. Great minds are inventing and producing the transport systems we need for green logistics. We have early adopter logistics organisations using the tech and sharing their insights for more efficient use. And for non-early adopters, there are still vital needs for leadership to move our industry into a green logistics future. So stay inspired to lead! If you have time, share with me some of the work your organisation is doing to reduce emissions. I’d love to learn more.