Raft, an intelligent freight operating system, is advising forwarders to prepare for new sustainability reporting regulations.
Lionel van der Walt, Chief Growth Officer, Raft, has warned forwarders of the need to focus on finding an emissions reporting method to suit their business and that of their customers as soon as possible.
“The rapidly changing legislation landscape, coupled with growing demands from shippers and consumers across the globe, means that companies of all sizes in the supply chain must focus on sustainability, and it is the responsible thing to do,” said van der Walt.
The European Commission, for example, started the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) initiative on the 21st of April 2021, with companies that fall into scope with the directive having to apply the rules for the first time in the 2024 financial year, for reports published in 2025.
This will be of a significant impact for European shippers who will, in turn, require more detailed carbon emissions data from their forwarders, irrespective of their location across the globe.
The role of tech in emissions reporting
“Raft is focused on serving freight forwarders by way of automating operational pain points, which is why we are addressing emissions reporting for them,” said van der Walt.
“We have developed a digital solution which is scalable and allows freight forwarders to streamline and automate this complex, time-intensive process, making it much easier for users to access the data they need quickly and report on it accurately.”
Raft is an intelligent freight operating system using cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence to automate and optimise freight forwarder operations across the entire lifecycle of a shipment, including areas such as Finance, Customs, Operations, Sales, Visibility, and Emissions Tracking.
Raft’s platform enables forwarders to accurately calculate and track emissions automatically, and in real time, allowing users to view, manage, and share verified carbon emissions data across their shipment portfolio.
Its digital solutions are tailored to the user’s needs, ranging from integrations that enable a basic emissions calculator tool, accounting for factors such as quantity, weight, mode and route, to in-depth integrations across various technologies such as TMS’ and visibility tracking software, enabling detailed calculations and reporting as required by regulators.
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A competitive advantage
“With legislative bodies strengthening regulations on emissions reporting, it’s more important than ever for forwarders to ensure they are as accurate and transparent as possible with their calculations,” continues van der Walt.
“Sustainability reporting is not just a matter of compliance but it’s also a competitive advantage for freight forwarders.
Digitalizing the emissions reporting process enables forwarding operators to better track sustainability data, helping to support their customers to meet regulatory requirements, and make more conscious, carbon-efficient supply chain decisions going forward.
In this way, companies that actively and authentically show they are investing in sustainable practices will prove they are environmentally responsible partners and are able to meet their customers’ evolving expectations to comply with regulatory requirements.
