Green logistics helps businesses cut costs, improve operations and win customers.
The "big guy" stepped on the gas
More than a year ago, shipping and logistics company Maersk invested 150 million USD to build a logistics center in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (China), expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year. This center has a warehouse area of about 150,000 m2, including 4 standard warehouses of 3 floors and a warehouse of 24 m high.
Notably, the logistics facility uses advanced, environmentally friendly materials and is equipped with a rainwater management system and solar panels to optimize water and energy efficiency. The new center also features low-carbon energy systems, including natural ventilation and non-fossil heating, to minimize negative environmental impacts.
In addition to this center, Maersk also plans to invest in building a smart and green integrated logistics center covering the Asia-Pacific region in Yantian Comprehensive Bonded Zone (China) to further exploit market potential.
Maersk representatives revealed that the group will have 13 green fuel-powered ships by 2026. Initially, the ships can run on fossil fuels, but in the future they will operate on green methanol. Maersk also signed cooperation agreements with 6 energy developers around the world to increase green methanol production to meet transportation needs.
Maersk’s rival CMA CGM is also pursuing a green logistics strategy. The company announced that it has purchased six methanol-powered vessels. According to a CMA CGM representative, the company will use alternative fuels such as biomethane to meet at least 10% of its vessels’ consumption by 2023.
The European Union’s FuelEU Maritime Regulation (expected to come into effect in 2025) sets a target for ships to significantly reduce their greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decades. Meanwhile, according to Facts and Factors’ Green Logistics Market Size Research Report, the global green logistics market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.10% to reach over $1,481.5 billion by 2028.
According to investors, Vietnam is a beneficiary as global manufacturing and retail businesses are looking to diversify their supply sources and reduce their dependence on the Chinese market.
However, Vietnam needs to provide investors with a complete production ecosystem including: diverse suppliers, good information technology links, high-quality labor and optimal, fuel-efficient logistics.
Synchronized strategy
According to statistics from the Vietnam Logistics Association (VLA), the transportation industry contributes 24% of global emissions. The journey towards green and adaptive logistics will contribute to the carbon reduction process of the Vietnamese logistics industry in particular and the global one in general.
“Developing a green supply chain is a must right now. It is closely linked to the goal of reducing net emissions to 0% (Net Zero) that Vietnam committed to at COP 26,” said Mr. Le Duy Hiep, Chairman of VLA.
From the perspective of a logistics operator following the industrial park logistics cluster model, Ms. Pham Thi Bich Hue, Chairwoman of Western Pacific Group (WPG) affirmed that transportation costs in
Vietnam's logistics sector accounts for over 50%, leading to a huge amount of emissions. Therefore, in addition to saving fuel, Vietnam needs a synchronous green logistics development strategy.
Specifically, the synchronization between manufacturers and logistics centers will help operators optimize transportation routes. In this solution, government regulation is the most important and obvious issue.
Warehousing is an important factor in applying the green logistics model. This is still considered a distant issue, because 90% of businesses in the industry are small, medium and micro enterprises and applying green logistics will be costly.
However, Ms. Hue said that this is not too big of a problem, because if there are no conditions to switch to more expensive fuels, businesses can apply optimized solutions. Western Pacific Group is applying the industrial cluster model on a small scale, the industrial park model will be calculated for each locality.
Source: https://baodautu.vn/logistics-xanh-tao-loi-the-canh-tranh-ben-vung-d219948.html
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