Today, the climatic and ecological context no longer leaves companies a choice. The last alarming report of the IPCC and the natural disasters of the summer reminded us of this. COP26 in November will mark the start of major challenges to try to limit the damage to rising temperatures.

If the previous crises could be resolved by purely political choices, this one requires action from all, starting with the logistics players. This is all the more important since, according to the audit firm PWC, the companies that have best resisted the Covid-19 health crisis are those that had already implemented a solid and authentic CSR approach.

Within such a system, their Supply Chain management is directly concerned, in that CSR is not limited to the borders of the company. More than that, the Supply Chain is today at the heart of its strategy and its activities, from supply to distribution.

• It must therefore find quick solutions to greatly limit the direct and indirect impact of its organization and that of its partners on the environment. Among its main challenges:
• Reduce the carbon footprint, an element that determines all subsequent actions
• Optimization of water, energy and material resources
• Route optimization
• Maximizing product life
• Recycling, recovery, recovery, circular economy

CSR in the Supply Chain is also based on fair and equitable treatment of employees, customers and the entire supply chain.

Green Supply Chain Management involves completely reviewing the software that prevailed before and taking into account only costs and deadlines. From now on, it is necessary to include in each of its choices, from the design of the products to their transport, the environmental question.

The concept of Green Supply Chain is not new. It has been around for ten years. But its progress has been sluggish, hampered by financial issues and the rise in e-commerce, forcing it to increase production rates. Some of these players in the new economy, start-ups and SMEs, are today among the most ambitious in this field for all of their logistics;

• Reuse of cardboard from other local companies (this is what the SME Chabiothé in Lyon does for example)
• Grouping of parcels in relays to limit kilometers and “siloed” deliveries
• Choice of partners in the same approach, etc.
• Choice of digital solutions for monitoring supply chains and their impact

Different founding aspects of the Supply Chain act directly on the impact of companies through an environmental policy.

The supplier relationship

A responsible company, which enters into partnerships with suppliers who are themselves committed to an environmental and human approach, is a company that takes fewer risks and improves its reputation. The supplier relationship based on a reduction in impacts thus represents a lever for action to reduce its indirect carbon emissions.

Improved transportation planning

Planning is an essential part of lowering carbon emissions. By monitoring and anticipating, as well as optimizing shipping units and logistics plans, it is now possible to greatly limit unnecessary transport and rationalize vehicle loading rates. Added to this is traceability, from the warehouse to the end customers.

Low carbon warehouses

Warehouses are an important axis for the reduction of its negative impacts on the environment. The place can become self-sufficient in renewable energy thanks to photovoltaic panels and the reuse of rainwater. It can also limit its energy consumption through reasoned choices and innovations such as IoT sensors (the Internet of Things) and robotics.

A Green Supply Chain requires the provision of adequate solutions to optimize logistics plans and make the best choices according to environmental impact criteria.

The TMS (Transport Management System), through their complete scope in all areas of the Supply Chain, for both shippers and carriers, promotes all of its CSR challenges, including the reduction of carbon emissions through:

• The choice of the best transport solutions
• Optimization of routes to limit the kilometers traveled
• Consolidation of orders/loads
• Improving the filling rate
• Simulation of loads

In this way, TMS show their importance every day in decision-making - related to costs, deadlines and ecological impact - in SMEs, ETIs and large groups.

The integration of a TMS such as MyTower, which digitizes your Transport operations, can thus be part of the company's strategy, within its CSR roadmap and in an environmental policy.

Sometimes seen as coercive and costly measures, environmental actions in Supply Chains are on the contrary vectors:

• energy efficiency
• cost reduction
• a better reputation with the public, its partners and investors, its future talents

Today, with the right tools and a full and complete approach, the Supply Chain sector is mobilizing to truly reduce its carbon emissions.

MyTower has all the functionalities necessary for the application of a reduction in carbon emissions. To find out more about its advantages, do not hesitate to consult the report of the webinar “TMS, collaborative and/or specialized platform: how digital is transforming the Supply Chain and Transport logistics”.