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Topsector Logistiek

TSL

Triple Helix innovation in logistics, funded by government, knowledge institutions and companies.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Jeannette Baljeu (Member of the European Parliament)

9 Apr 2025 · Opening remarks roundtable CountEmissionsEU

Meeting with Jeannette Baljeu (Member of the European Parliament)

21 Nov 2024 · CountEmissionsEU

Response to ReFuelEU Aviation environmental labelling scheme

14 Oct 2024

The initiative to incorporate aviation in emission registration is to be recommended: clear unambigous data on the energy- and emission effectiveness on both passenger and freight aviation is the basis for GHG emission reduction. An emission label is a normative translation of primairy data: measurements in practice, aggregated in some form, compared to a benchmark. The idea of putting safety agencies in the position to collect and aggregate/transform the primairy data is supported: they should be able to balance commercial confidentiality and societal demands for transparancy. The methodology however to allocate emissions to meaningfull indicators is in our opinion immature. Most airplanes combine passengers and freight. The current default allocation factors as used by IATA are disputed by several scientists, claiming that they are biased toward allocating too little of the emissions to passsengers, and too much to belly freight. We have tried to get data from airlines to falsify or confirm this statement, but have not been able to get cooperation. In our opinion this issue should be resolved at first. Furthermore it seems logical to use as much belly freight in combined flights as possible, to reduce emissions. The current factors push in another direction, towards full freight as having the lowest emissions. Refinements as the difference in passenger classes could be considered. We find it questionable to incorporate projected use of lower emission aircraft into a label: this introduces a lot of uncertainty and projection, especially as the delivery dates of new airplanes keep slipping, and the actual emissions are not known. As an alternative of a label one could envisage using a method from the oil industry for non-competitive performance benchmarks (for instance of nafta-crackers and refineries): the anonymous schatter plot. All data for a given periode of all comparable flights/airplanes are presented as dots in an X-Y graph. None are labeled. A participant airline would receive a private plot with its own data points identified and the others unidentified. This kind of graph shows the spread and centers of gravity of the industry, and for the airline its own comparative benchmark to the sector, without commercial sensitivities.
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Response to Count your transport emissions: CountEmissions EU

18 Aug 2023

The practical implementation of the accounting of greenhouse gas emissions of transport services has been a focal point for Topsector Logistics (https://topsectorlogistiek.nl/over-topsector-logistiek/) in the last decade. We are pleased to see that the Commission has taken an approach in the proposed regulation that aligns with our practical experience. Our experience is based on the actual detailed accounting of GHG emissions in practice, in cooperation with over a 1000 companies of all sizes in logistics in all sectors and modalities. Based on this experience we have found that the effort to implement GHG accounting in logistics yields a surprising number of additional benefits, especially if a very limited additional set of primary data is collected in the process. Time-stamps such as generated by in-vehicle TMS systems, maximum capacity of the vehicle and type of engine, combined with the primary data needed for GHG accounting yield an amazing amount of information that is of great value to the business owner. GHG accounting in this sense is more than administrative burden, it is a rich source of business intelligence. The same practical experience has led us to develop tools, guidelines and audit schemes that may accelerate the implementation by the Commission in delegating acts. 1. Guideline for implementing ISO-14083 correctly and consistently in software tools for calculations. Implementation of the ISO-14083 standard in tools like Visma Loginex and BigMile has shown that additional guidelines are required to create a consistent and auditable result: the same primary data set should yield the same results, regardless of which tool is used. On https://carbonfootprinting.org/en/ nearly 30 implementation guidelines and application notes can be found on how ISO-14083 should be implemented in practice. All publicly available, free of charge. 2. Certification of calculation tools performed by an accredited conformity assessment body Part of the proposal of the Commission is the development of a certification method for calculation tools. The Topsector Logistics has been working with LRQA Elevate and a set of 10 companies (software providers, shippers and logistics service providers) to develop: - A self assessment tool - A guidance document - An audit scheme, fit for official accreditation The development and testing work is nearly finished. 3. Verification of reported results. Guidelines for accountants have been developed and tested in practice. The assumption is that a certified calculation tool is used, and the verification needs to be done by an accountant who is not specialized in GHG accounting. Even SME accountants should be able to verify results, within reasonable time and costs. The verification scheme is freely available. 4. An industry benchmark (CPI) fit for statistical use The calculations required for ISO-14083, using primary data, yield a new type of emission intensity factor (CPI, COFRET Performance Indicator). This CPI is a very practical performance indicator: - It is an excellent and easy to use intensity factor to fill in the data gaps in supply chains where primary data is not available, much more accurate than existing emission intensity factors - It is a very good indicator of supply chain efficiency, showing the combined effects of decisions made by the shipper and the transporter - It hides commercially sensitive information - It is a good benchmark reference - It is a practical input for statistical purposes, allowing for bottom-up calculations of emissions of sectors Collecting CPIs builds a database of detailed sector, type of cargo, modality and geography dependent references that can be used for multiple purposes. The Topsector Logistics would be more than willing to share this knowledge to accelerate the implementation of the proposed regulation.
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Response to Count your transport emissions: CountEmissions EU

16 Dec 2021

We strongly support this initiative, provided that the common framework pushes for : - accounting of emissions based on primary data as opposed to modelling (“calculating”) emissions based on general emission intensity factors - integration of recording and accounting for CO2 in standard IT systems used in the industry - allocation of emissions to the value added by the transportation and storage activities, being the translocation of goods and/or persons from origin to destination - the aggregation of data from subcontracted segments (legs) in supply chains or transport chains to integrated outputs - support for carbon pricing and carbon trading, which means that results can be audited and certified by auditors - support for a “ladder” of participation and data quality, accommodating the wide variety in IT-maturity of companies in Member States, especially SME’s. - KPI’s that acknowledge the shared responsibility of shippers and transporters in logistics for the results o Transportation companies are service companies that work within the design of a supply chain, within the constraints and planning demands that are dictated by shippers. Shippers are dependent on transportation companies for efficient execution and using the best possible equipment. - Both share the responsibility for the resulting CO2-emissions caused by the transportation of a good in a supply chain. - KPI’s that do not disturb or can be abused in the a-symmetrical power relationship in purchasing decisions of transport For the last 5 years we have been active in testing and developing the practice of applying the methodology first described by the COFRET working group, and lately incorporated in the ISO14083 standard. In these test we have found solutions in practice for all the above questions and demands. The methodology has been applied in: - All modalities, International, continental and local distribution - All kinds of goods - All kinds or roles (producer, retailer, 4PL, forwarder, transporter, platform, etc.) - All size of companies, - Currently over 50 different types of supply chains have been benchmarked in groups, with over 300 companies participating. In 2022 another 50 will be added. More is added in attachment We look forward to sharing our experiences and results.
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Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans), Diederik Samsom (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

25 Sept 2020 · Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism

Response to Environmental claims based on environmental footprint methods

30 Aug 2020

Topsector Logistics The European Green Deal has more forcefully put logistics emissions on the policy agenda of the European Commission. As Topsector Logistics in The Netherlands, we applaud this. As we will explain below, we have been active in reducing transport and logistics emissions in The Netherlands and believe we can contribute to the achievement of the ambitious goals set out. The Topsector Logistics has developed a practical and open source process for Supply Chain Carbon Accounting of goods in networked worldwide supply chains, as an implementation of the GHG procotol scope 3. The process relies on actual data as opposed to modelled estimates, and delivers auditable emission-data per unit in every step of the supply chain that implements the process. The implementation has been tried and tested for the last 4 years in practice, starting with transport and logistics. Transport creates the network between manufacturing nodes in a supply chain, so adding manufacturing emissions to the accounting framework was a logical next step. Goods and its data are transported together, accommodating complex and fast changing networked supply chains, including multiple and new modes of transport (e.g. with new energy sources, automated). The process is designed to support an audit trail by accountants, leading to a certified allocation of CO2-emissions per item that is put through the supply chain. The process has been tested from small SME’s to large multinationals, leading to an affordable implementation for companies of all sizes. We have learned that there is a major difference between green claims by a company, versus green claims for a product. The latter requires supply chain accounting across a network of companies. For some characteristics, like the circularity of the raw materials, the need to be able to track back to the raw material production is adamant. Supply chain accounting is quite different from regular financial accounting for a company, as a stretches beyond the boundaries of a company. Our experience has shown how to implement this type of accounting in the real world. We would recommend to make a clear distinction between A. green claims by companies versus B. green claims for products. It would be our pleasure to share our experience with supply chain accounting in the process of developing this legislation.
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