The Luxembourg logistics and transport sector is ambitiously aiming to reduce CO2 emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 and 30 per cent by 2030, Cluster for Logistics (CLT) Luxembourg senior manager, Malik Zeniti tells staff writer James Muir.

Zeniti says CLT was encourage to support the introduction of an international environmental Sustainable Logistics label by the country’s minister for sustainable development and infrastructure, Francois Bausch.

He says: “Over 450 forerunners in Europe have defined an action plan or roadmap to decrease emissions by at least 20 per cent to obtain savings while delivering a measurable impact and actively doing something for the environment fighting global warming.”

Zeniti tells ACW the industry needs to reduce emissions and companies who do so will see benefits including lower energy consumption, lowering costs.

“Companies that have an action plan to make savings, while mitigating environmental pressure in their business plan, will have a competitive edge and a roadmap to guide their investments, while considering all stakeholders.”

The Netherlands initiated a voluntary programme in 2007 that has been adopted by the neighbouring countries of Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, which Zeniti says has made “a common label in a blue banana type corridor” available.

He also notes: “We in Luxembourg like to be in the economic driver seat and share the believe that investments into a Lean and Green programme is an economic way of gaining experience and be compliant before measures get mandatory.

“This approach provides competence from the clients perspective and hence stability allowing to share the burden to stay ahead of countries, who prefer to wait and see.”

In addition, the international Lean and Green community has launched Lean and Green Europe to offer internationally active companies a harmonised label.

Zeniti explains to ACW: “This allows to build a better more sustainable world together, by simply addressing regulatory pressure in a leaner harmonised way and engage cross-border collaboration. Such an international competitive benchmark should give an advantage to achieve Lean and Green performance.”