EDF Report Details Shipping Efficiencies

New technology and thinking are unlocking a raft of previously unattainable environmental and economic efficiencies in the commercial shipping industry, according to a report released this week by Environmental Defense Fund.

Examples of shipping best practice detailed Smart Moves, include:

• A retailer utilizing rail instead of trucks to move goods from warehouse to stores, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars per year and cutting carbon emissions by over 40 percent;

• Competing candy companies using a collaborative distribution model with the potential to slash costs by more than 30 percent and increase carbon efficiency by 25 percent;

• Smarter load management strategies that helped a major dairy company save $7.5 million a year, and helped a national food company eliminate 6.2 million miles worth of truck trips.

The report has been launched to coincide with a new collaboration between EDF and logistics providers, shippers and other experts. The initiative is designed to accelerate the adoption of cheaper, less emissions-intensive ways to transport commercial cargo of all kinds, EDF says.

This collaboration builds on previous team-ups between EDF and Walmart, FedEx and others.