Greening the Links in the Supply Chain
Driven by soaring fuel costs and the public’s call for greater environmental responsibility, more firms are trying to green their supply chain and increasingly are looking for outside help to improve the eco-friendliness, economy and efficiency of their transportation and logistics, a new study says.
Driven by soaring fuel costs and the public’s call for greater environmental responsibility, more firms are trying to green their supply chain and increasingly are looking for outside help to improve the eco-friendliness, economy and efficiency of their transportation and logistics, a new study says.
Eyefortransport’s “Green Transportation & Logistics Report July 2008” is based on the responses of more than 500 senior transportation and logistics executives from a range of industries who were surveyed over a two-year period. The report compares the responses from 235 executives who participated in an online survey this year with the responses of 271 who participated in 2007.
Some 64 percent of the 2008 respondents rated green issues as being important or very important, in contrast to the 59 percent who thought the same in 2007.
This year, 73 percent said that green issues will become more important to their transport and logistics processes over the next three years — a slight increase compared to the 2007 study when 70 percent responded similarly. Among those who responded this year, 8.5 percent said green issues will become the No.1 priority for their transport and logistics processes over the next three years.
The study also found a correlation between high grossing, highly successful companies and the high prioritization of green issues, which “likely contributes to their success,” eyefortransport said in a summary of this year’s report. According to the summary, the correlation is more pronounced this year than in 2007 and suggests a polarization in the industry. “Those companies who have committed to greening efforts are moving ahead at a fast pace, while those with lower turnovers have jumped less between last year and this,“ the summary said.
Respondents listed improving customer relations as the top driver for pursuing green transportation and logistics initiatives during each of year of the survey. The other key motivators in descending order this year were improving public relations, decreasing their fuel bill, following a broader corporate responsibility agenda and government compliance.
The report released earlier this summer, will be discussed in detail at eyefortransport’s Sustainable Supply Chain Summit in October in San Francisco.
Eyefortransport, established in 1998, provides logistics and transportation information and services through a global network of journalists, editors and consultants.
Eyefortransport’s “Green Transportation & Logistics Report July 2008” is based on the responses of more than 500 senior transportation and logistics executives from a range of industries who were surveyed over a two-year period. The report compares the responses from 235 executives who participated in an online survey this year with the responses of 271 who participated in 2007.
Some 64 percent of the 2008 respondents rated green issues as being important or very important, in contrast to the 59 percent who thought the same in 2007.
This year, 73 percent said that green issues will become more important to their transport and logistics processes over the next three years — a slight increase compared to the 2007 study when 70 percent responded similarly. Among those who responded this year, 8.5 percent said green issues will become the No.1 priority for their transport and logistics processes over the next three years.
The study also found a correlation between high grossing, highly successful companies and the high prioritization of green issues, which “likely contributes to their success,” eyefortransport said in a summary of this year’s report. According to the summary, the correlation is more pronounced this year than in 2007 and suggests a polarization in the industry. “Those companies who have committed to greening efforts are moving ahead at a fast pace, while those with lower turnovers have jumped less between last year and this,“ the summary said.
Respondents listed improving customer relations as the top driver for pursuing green transportation and logistics initiatives during each of year of the survey. The other key motivators in descending order this year were improving public relations, decreasing their fuel bill, following a broader corporate responsibility agenda and government compliance.
The report released earlier this summer, will be discussed in detail at eyefortransport’s Sustainable Supply Chain Summit in October in San Francisco.
Eyefortransport, established in 1998, provides logistics and transportation information and services through a global network of journalists, editors and consultants.
