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The State of Sustainability in Transportation: Supply chains, a missing link for sustainability

SustainabilityPublished on December 17, 2020

Convoy’s mission to build the most efficient digital freight network is rooted in our desire to eliminate waste in the supply chain. We enable our transportation industry partners to increase their supply chain efficiency through our optimized, connected network of carriers. Our business is inherently tied to the sustainability of the supply chain, and we are focused on improving both the environmental impact and social responsibility of our network. This State of Sustainability in Transportation Report outlines the priorities, management, and future outlook of sustainability in the transportation industry. This analysis will enable our partners to improve their understanding of sustainability and to engage with others along the journey.

To build this report we gathered insights from over 120 companies to find out how they are approaching sustainability. Companies such as The Home Depot, Molson Coors, and Nestlé face a multitude of sustainability risks and opportunities in their supply chains. This report will highlight the viewpoints of these companies, along with others, about how they and their transportations departments are structuring their approach to supply chain sustainability. 

The vast majority of companies understand that improving sustainability in the supply chain is a vital task. More than 80% of the companies we surveyed said that sustainability was important or very important to their business. There was, however, less cohesion around how to define and manage sustainability. We will outline and compare the different approaches to managing sustainability risk and offer insights into how best to get started or continue progressing. 

The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals defines supply chain sustainability as “the management of environmental and social impacts within and across networks consisting of suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and customers in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals”. Using this initial framing, this report will identify the biggest levers that transportation companies can use to have a positive impact and increase their sustainability. For some companies, this includes reductions in greenhouse gas emission through the reduction of empty miles or other efficiency improvements. For others, implementing policies that improve carrier safety and diversity, or increase driver quality of life, will have a lasting impact upon their sustainability performance and reputation.

Download this State of Sustainability in Transportation report here to see how businesses are prioritizing sustainability in their supply chain.

Sustainability at Convoy 

We are focused on reducing the billions of waste in trucking and supporting the communities where we live and work. Learn more about Convoy’s commitment to Sustainability.

Author

Jennifer Wong

Jennifer is the Head of Sustainability at Convoy, helping transportation leaders make progress against their environmental and social impact goals.
View more articles by Jennifer Wong