Green Freight Asia (GFA), an industry-led network focused on driving sustainable road freight across the region, today opened up its GFA Label applications to all carriers and shippers across Asia Pacific to address the trucking industry’s CO2 emissions. Currently, trucks in Asia account for nine percent of all vehicles on the road, but contribute 54 percent of road CO2 emissions.
Successfully applying for the GFA Label is the first step for the freight carriers and shippers in officially gaining their green credentials. For the carriers, an improvement in fuel efficiency and the subsequent reduced costs bring benefits not only for their organisations, but also for their customers.
The vision behind GFA and the GFA Label is to create a green ecosystem whereby shippers can log into the GFA membership database and make a conscious, ‘green’ sourcing decision by selecting a carrier based on its GFA Label rankings. The carriers are then ultimately rewarded for their green practices, providing them with a genuine incentive to attain the GFA Label.
The rankings are determined by the organisations’ commitment to adopting green freight practices, with the GFA Label comprising of four distinct tiers of recognition. A company that attains one leaf has successfully demonstrated a minimum commitment to adopting green freight practices while a company that has attained four leaves has demonstrated itself as a true sustainability leader, with an outstanding commitment. Companies of all sizes, no matter where they are in the supply chain, are encouraged to apply and become a benchmark organisation within their industry.
“We believe the implementation of the GFA Label will be a catalyst for change. We can not only improve our businesses and environment, but also how the public perceives our industry,” says Stephan Schablinski, Chief Executive Officer, Green Freight Asia.
Freight and trade efficiency, in conjunction with positive environmental impacts, will benefit all sides, Schablinski says.
“Shippers will be provided with more efficient access to services from their carriers, with smaller footprints on the environment in which their consumables are being transported. They will also be trading in an environment where they know they are being provided services that are of best practice.”
GFA ran a trial late last year for the first batch of GFA Label applications to ensure they had the right processes in place before opening it up to the wider market. A total of 48 applications from more than 30 companies were processed, with approximately 62 percent of the applications receiving the GFA Label and a Certificate of Excellence.
The GFA Label was applied for across 13 countries in Asia Pacific, while the organisations who successfully applied included Heineken, IKEA, DHL, Hewlett-Packard, Infineon, UPS and Lenovo amongst others.
“We want the GFA Label to become synonymous with companies and organisations that are committed to adopting innovative and sustainable road freight practices, who are also supportive of the green freight programs and initiatives GFA is driving throughout Asia Pacific,” says Schablinski.
For more information on GFA, and tutorials on how to apply for the GFA Label, please visit www.greenfreightasia.org and http://greenfreightasia.org/about-gfa-label
