Contract Transport Goes Green

Every year, the planet’s population increases by 81 million. Such rapid growth directly affects the volume of global freight transport, which will grow by 300% over the next 30 years according to the International Transport Forum and the International Council on Clean Transportation. To protect the environment against the greater threat of pollution from more vehicles on the road, the European Union has developed a "Green Deal" focused on eliminating CO2 emissions.

The International Road Transport Union has identified three main solutions for achieving climate goals: alternative or renewable energy sources, higher capacity transport, and trade facilitation.

Trade facilitation involves the optimization of supply chains. In addition to reducing CO2 emissions, effective planning of goods flows saves time, fuel, and financial resources.

The AsstrA-Associated Traffic AG corporate group formed its Contract Fleet Department in 2020. It serves routes covering the whole of Europe, from northern Finland to southern Spain.

“Our Contract Fleet business is a prime example of the company's commitment to green logistics. We thoughtfully plan routes for customers and have reduced our contract trucks’ empty mileage in Western Europe to around 11%. For comparison, according to Eurostat the European average for empty mileage is 13%. Reducing empty mileage, coupled with the use of trucks complying with the highest environmental standards, is a strong step towards minimizing CO2 emissions,” says Dmitry Krõlov, AsstrA Sustainability Manager.

The Contract Fleet Department team carefully analyzed limitations on the company’s ability to scale its contract transport offerings and has been taking measures to eliminate these constraints. Their work has played an important role in launching new projects in line with AsstrA’s strategy for 2022-2024.

“When our operational team puts together logistics solutions, they are more than just orders for carriers. It is also an opportunity for our transport partners to grow their businesses. We strive to create an environment of long-term cooperation that helps expand our fleet and grow the carriers’ transport capacity of carriers. We make orders attractive to partners not only with price and payment terms but also with professional route planning and support while the delivery is being made,” says Alina Bralko, Head of AsstrA’s Contract Fleet Department.

Dedicated managers work to develop the company’s range of transport offerings and build order volumes on key routes between focal zones This helps AsstrA serve a wider range of clients and dynamically plan logistics solutions.

“The Contract Fleet Department’s next priority is to automate planning based on integrated data from the company's internal systems and telematics devices. This provides better visibility of resource usage and makes decision making faster. The result is more shipments planned in less time. Regular data conversion leads to a deeper network of contract transport loopback proposals and greater transportation capacity in general,” continues Alina Bralko.

Effective transportation planning improves service quality, reduces transport companies’ operating costs, and cuts CO2 emissions from empty kilometres.

“Today, in logistics no one questions the importance of finding eco-friendly solutions for sustainable business development. “Green” logistics are not only about having energy-efficient offices and complying with Euro 6 emissions standards. They are about taking a comprehensive set of measures to protect the environment from multiple angles,” adds Dmitry Krõlov.

To achieve the corporate group’s sustainability goals AsstrA is:

• introducing a CO2 emissions measurement framework,
• publishing an annual report on the company’s progress towards these goals,
• using of the most environmentally friendly transport modes and types,
• switching to alternative fuels and zero-emission vehicles wherever possible, and
• implementing technologies designed to support environmentally friendly practices.