Emissions of greenhouse gases, foremost carbon dioxide, causing human induced climate change
have become a global and fateful issue. All parties ought to be engaged in the mission of
mitigating the anticipated impacts. For any organization determined to deal with the issue,
measuring its carbon footprint is an essential step to take.
Since 2001 SKF has monitored the level of CO2 emissions associated with its manufacturing
processes. Included in this scope are the CO2 emissions originating from electricity, heat and fuel
consumption at the production sites and other facilities. During these years the emissions figures
have been published in the annual sustainability report, from which it is evident that SKF has
managed to reduce the group’s total CO2 emissions. This is in line with the annual CO2 reduction
targets, and in a carbon constrained future it should be seen as a competitive advantage to
continue on this route. CO2 emissions from transportation of SKF goods and staff have so far
been kept outside the monitoring scope. These sources are expected to contribute significantly to
the total carbon impact of a multinational manufacturing company like SKF, and hence they
should also be monitored and managed.
In this study of CO2 emissions accounting, SKF freight transports are examined. The
identification of emission sources, the handling of transport activity data, the application of
proper calculation methodologies, organizational aspects and questions of liability are all
integrated parts of the study.
Emission calculations are carried out for two specific logistics systems managed by SKF
Logistics Services; the Daily Transport System (DTS) and the Global Air Freight Program. The
DTS, which is based on road freight transports, operates the European distribution of finished
products. It is estimated to contribute with 9 700 tonnes CO2 during 2007. Since the system is
optimized to a reasonable degree, the CO2 impact per tonne-km is relatively low. Over the same
period the air freight’s estimated emissions are 40 000 tonnes. Together these transport activities
contributes to about ten percent of the SKF total CO2 equivalents based on the reporting of 2006.
Adding the emissions from the remaining transport activities that SKF utilizes will make this
share increase considerably, particularly if also inbound transports are accounted for.
The potential for CO2 reductions is covered by two change-oriented case studies. It can be
concluded that short-sea transportation seldom is an alternative to road transports. Intermodal
transports combining road and rail can, depending on the circumstances, reduce the CO2 impact
considerably compared to only using road transports. Reducing transportation work by optimizing
a transport activity is seen as the best option for CO2 reductions. Efforts should be put into
reducing the need for air freight transports, considering the high emission levels per tonne-km.
Monitoring emissions for all transport activities that falls under SKF responsibility will reduce
the risk of sub optimization.
Introduc...
