The Co-operative and Tesco have cut their carbon emissions by using Paragon Software Systems’ carbon minimizer, which allows fleets to reduce both their carbon footprint and operating costs with improved routing.
The Co-op cut 5,000 tons of CO2 from its fleet of 1,300 trucks that deliver food to grocery stores, while retailer Tesco halved its carbon emissions, a Paragon spokesperson tells Environmental Leader, adding that customers typically reduce their emissions by 20 percent.
The carbon minimizer tool optimizes route efficiency in terms of fuel used and associated carbon emissions. Paragon’s software estimates and reports the total CO2 and fuel content of all the routes and schedules, including distances, speeds, weight and vehicle fuel efficiency. Carbon minimizer is then used as a final optimization step to adjust the schedules — changing stop sequences and swapping stops between routes — to further reduce total CO2 emissions and fuel usage.
The software takes into account slower city-based travel that utilizes more fuel and emits more carbon emissions than highway travel that is much faster. Similarly, heavily loaded vehicles use more fuel/CO2 per mile than empty ones. The new tool incorporates these factors to generate carbon-friendly schedules.
The software company says all of its customers can benefit from explicit reporting of carbon and fuel factors. Companies using Paragon strategically to analyze distribution scenarios can make decisions based on expected carbon footprint, as well as cost criteria. Additionally, companies using Paragon every day to calculate dynamic routes and schedules can monitor their carbon key performance indicators, such as expected CO2 per scheduled stop or per ton.
Also this week, DHL Global Forwarding, Freight launched an automatic carbon footprint reporting feature as part of its track and trace system. As of Oct. 1, DHL’s air and ocean freight division’s customers worldwide can see the carbon footprint of their shipments within DHL’s web-based services DHLi Public Tracking and Active Tracing. The reporting service automatically appears in the system. DHL customers can track their carbon emissions from any Internet-enabled device.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story said Paragon customers using the carbon minimizer typically reduce their emissions by 20 percent to 50 percent due to incorrect information provided by a Paragon spokesperson.