Cummins North America has implemented its Planet 2050 initiative that includes multiple targets to reach by 2030 in reducing its Co2 footprint with a goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Many other companies, like Walmart for example with its aim for zero emissions by 2040, have implemented sustainability goals.
And trucking companies are stuck in between – from a Cummins engine in a truck to dropping a load at a Walmart dock – having to find ways to reduce emissions while being part of the largest single source of greenhouse gases generated in the U.S.: transportation, representing 29% of total emissions.
Steve Hueser, transportation director at Cummins North America, which specializes in diesel and alternative fuel engines, said any efforts trucking companies make toward reducing their emissions will give them a competitive advantage.
“Electric, natural gas, hydrogen, it's definitely going to be the wave of the future. As with anything, we will measure that performance. We have targets specific to transportation operations to reduce the Co2 footprint that we use, and so … understanding what different types of power vehicles you have in your portfolio to help us reach our targets for 2030 is important,” Hueser said during a panel at the recent TCA Truckload event in Las Vegas. “I think the ESG-type carriers will be a competitive advantage as we have global targets that we're trying to hit as a business. So I think sustainability is a differentiator, especially in certain lanes.”
Technology that helps with things like driver coaching and route optimization to reduce emissions from fuel use has enabled trucking companies to better meet their ESG goals, but there’s only so much software can do.
Trucking companies have been investing in software technology to help reduce their emissions, and there are many options on the market.
One of those technology providers is Shipwell, which recently released a load optimization feature within its transportation management system that it claims helps customers significantly reduce the time it takes to plan and route shipments, the costs associated with moving them and the carbon emissions produced by the carriers hauling them.
