Single Article - The Association of European Vehicle Logistics

ECG - the Association of European Vehicle Logistics, and Smart Freight Centre announce partnership to Advance Decarbonization Efforts in the Finished Vehicle Logistics sector

ECG — 2024-10-21

News from ECG

ECG - the Association of European Vehicle Logistics, today announced a strategic partnership with Smart Freight Centre (SFC) to accelerate the decarbonization of the vehicle logistics industry across Europe.

The collaboration, started during the development of the emission calculations methodology for automotive supply chains, goes now a step further in scaling up the decarbonization efforts for our sector. It will benefit the network of ECG’s over 200 member companies, providing transport, distribution, storage, preparation and post-production services in the automotive supply chain, to achieve their environmental goals while maintaining operational efficiency.

The partnership with Smart Freight Centre, a global non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable freight and logistics, will leverage their combined expertise to implement and promote best practices in carbon measurement, management, and reduction. This collaboration underscores both organizations' commitment to promoting sustainable practices and reducing carbon emissions in the transport and logistics sector.

The collaboration will focus on three key areas:

Following the principles of the GLEC Framework, a global method for calculating and reporting of logistics emissions: ECG members will apply ECG-VDA sector specific guidance on emissions accounting and reporting in alignment with the GLEC Framework, the most recognized industry guidance to report and calculate logistics emissions according to the ISO 14083 standard. This will ensure consistent, transparent, and accurate reporting of carbon footprints, enabling companies to track and manage their emissions effectively.
Development and updating of Industry-Specific Guidelines and Training: SFC and ECG will continue collaborating to create guidelines and training programs tailored to the unique challenges of the vehicle logistics sector. These resources will empower companies to implement practical and effective greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction strategies across their supply chains.
Advocacy and Stakeholder Engagement: The partnership will focus on raising awareness among key stakeholders, including vehicle manufacturers, logistics providers, and policymakers, about the importance of decarbonization in vehicle logistics. Joint initiatives will be launched to advocate for supportive policies and encourage the adoption of sustainable practices industry wide.

“ECG and SFC already successfully collaborated in the past two years to support vehicle logistics operators to measure their carbon footprint. With sustainability increasingly becoming a critical focus in the automotive and logistics industries, our formal partnership with Smart Freight Centre will further help our members and their customers, the car manufacturers, to achieve their environmental and decarbonisation goals,” said Frank Schnelle, Executive Director at ECG. “Together, we aim to lead the way in reducing carbon emissions and setting new standards for sustainability in vehicle logistics.”

“The collaboration with ECG aligns perfectly with our mission to drive change in the logistics sector,” said Christoph Wolff, Chief Executive Officer of Smart Freight Centre. “By working together, we can scale up the adoption of best practices and make meaningful progress towards decarbonizing freight in Europe.”

For more information, please visit www.ecgassociation.eu and www.smartfreightcentre.org.

Note to editors:
ECG is the established European platform for the outbound automotive logistics sector bringing together logistics service providers, manufacturer logistics managers and suppliers to the sector. ECG aims to facilitate non-commercial collaboration between member companies and assist them in sharing best practices in many operational areas, especially the harmonisation of operational standards.

Frank Schnelle
Executive Director
ECG-The Association of European Vehicle Logistics
T: +32 2 706 82 80
info@ecgassociation.eu
www.ecgassociation.eu

About ECG

ECG, the Association of European Vehicle Logistics, has been the voice of the Finished Vehicle Logistics industry in Europe since 1997. ECG represents the interests of more than 200 member companies and partners, from family-owned SMEs to multi-nationals, and is the major champion of the European vehicle logistics sector.

ECG represents all transport models at EU level- road, rail, maritime and fluvial. ECG members provide transport, distribution, storage, preparation, and post-production services to manufacturers, importers, car rental companies, and vehicle leasing operators in the 27 Member States of the European Union as well as Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and beyond. They own or operate more than 470 car-carrying ships, 14,000 purpose-built railway wagons, 23 river barges, and 26,000 road transporters. As a major employer, the finished vehicle logistics sector plays an important role in contributing to the economic success of the European Union. Today, ECG members have an aggregate turnover of €21.3bn and their economic impact on companies associated with the sector is estimated at €56bn. More than 210,000 Europeans are employed directly by our members.

About Smart Freight Centre

Smart Freight Centre (SFC) is a globally active non-profit organization for climate action in the freight sector. Our goal is to mobilize the global logistics ecosystem, in particular our members and partners, in tracking and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. We accelerate the reduction of logistics emissions to achieve a zero-emission global logistics sector by 2050 or earlier, consistent with 1.5° pathways.