More efficient, more intelligent, more user-friendly: practical solutions increase sustainability in logistics. Digital technologies play a key role here.
Every year, more than 100 billion parcels are shipped worldwide – with an upward trend. Depending on which study is used, logistics and transport are responsible for more than 5.5, 8 or, including logistics locations, even 11 percent of global CO2 emissions. In Europe, every fifth to second transport trip on the road is said to be empty. Yet, 45 percent of logistics companies do not record their CO2 emissions at all or only incompletely. Figures like these make clear how great the potential of logistics is for sustainability. For many years, the researchers at Fraunhofer IML have been supporting the logistics industry and its companies, as well as municipalities and organizations, with practical solutions and innovations to protect the environment and conserve resources. In recent years, both the view of sustainability and the spectrum of possibilities have changed significantly. “Above all, the use of digital technologies enables companies to operate more sustainably and achieve better results,” says Dr. Michael Schmidt, Chief Scientist at Fraunhofer IML. “Overall, sustainability is a key lever for securing one's competitiveness.”