Overcoming barriers with the use of Smart Freight Centre’s Data Access guidance
Amsterdam, 10 February 2022 - The latest publication on GLEC’s Data Access & Exchange project promotes solutions for companies to overcome common barriers in obtaining data from their supply chains, supporting their journey towards zero-emission logistics.
Dear reader, please note that the Data Access Guidance has been updated. For the latest news on the Data Access Guidance, please consult our latest news post and the project's landing page.
Digitalization and transparency are critical enablers in order to understand your carbon footprint, take informed decisions and work towards achieving a zero-emission logistics sector. Securing access to reliable data from supply chains is therefore becoming more important.
To harmonize digitalization processes and increase transparency of logistics carbon footprints, Smart Freight Centre launched its latest guidance on Data Access and Exchange. This guidance provides industry insights on how to create visibility of logistics-related GHG emissions. It describes solutions to overcome common barriers to the necessary data exchange and introduces clear parameter overviews and associated data models for standardizing and automating logistics-related GHG data exchange across the transport chain.
The Data Access for Logistics Emissions Accounting and Reporting (“Data Access”) project aims to increase transparency of logistics emissions and decarbonization strategies through supporting shippers, LSPs, and carriers in accessing and exchanging GHG logistics emissions across their transport supply chain.
Building on the 5 insights gained in the first phase of the project (published in our Insights paper), today’s Guidance paper provides:
- An introduction on how to overcome common barriers to exchanging GHG related information across your transport chain
Recognizing the need to move beyond reporting and to inform decision making, different use cases for calculating GHG logistics emissions are introduced, providing an understanding of required granularity of the data and associated calculations. In addition, it provides an indication of the respective responsibilities for capturing the data and solutions to overcome trust & data assurance issues. Finally, it covers initial concepts around costs & incentive topics to increase action across your supply chain and the industry. - Parameters overview and data model to harmonize and facilitate the automated exchange of GHG logistics emissions
Understanding and harmonizing the data requirements and associated processes will help your organization to advance and take more accurate business decisions in decarbonizing logistics. Focusing on the exchange on a transport chain element and shipment level, and therefore supporting highly detailed understanding of the GHG emissions at a single leg or of a single shipment, overview tables are provided that help users to understand which parameters are needed depending on three eventualities: (i) exchange of GHG emissions, i.e. after the GHG calculation is made, (ii) exchange of energy consumed, i.e. supplier provides the amount and type of energy consumed for the shipment or (part of the) supply chain considered and the calculation is made thereafter, (iii) the exchange of transport activity data, i.e. the supplier provides transport activity related information concerning the shipment or part of the supply chain to facilitate the calculation.
In addition, a first version of a data model for the automated exchange of GHG emissions for a Transport Chain Element is presented. The data model proposes constraints, requirements, units and data types for each parameter on a transport chain element level and acts as a base for standardized IT system integration of GHG emission data.
This guidance document has been developed in collaboration with the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) and selected partners through a series of workstream meetings from July to December 2021. The next step and third phase of this project will see the implementation of the guidance in practice and improve the proposed data model.
Smart Freight Centre and GLEC invite every organization to pilot and review the different elements of the guidance and participate on the further development.
Get in contact
If your company is interested in joining phase 3 of the project, please get in contact with us:
Violetta Matzoros: violetta.matzoros@smartfreightcentre.org
Gabriela Rubio Domingo: gabriela.rubiodomingo@smartfreightcentre.org
The role of Smart Freight Centre
Smart Freight Centre supports the logistics industry on their journey to zero emissions. With our global partners, we aim to:
- Drive transparency and set the standard to simplify, increase efficiency and measure performance
- Facilitate solution pathways and catalyze collaboration to share knowledge and act together
- Educate, influence, and scale-up to allow organizations and the sector to accelerate decarbonization
Organizations can join our network based initiatives to collaborate, identify solutions and decarbonize their logistics. In addition, Smart Freight Centre offers trainings in sustainable logistics.