P CO2 EMISSIONS
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Chemicals sector takes first steps towards green footprint
THE CHEMICALS industry has taken its first step towards trying to reduce its carbon footprint on its transport operations after research expert professor Alan McKinnon was commissioned to evaluate its emissions.
The European Chemical Industry Council says freight and passenger carbon emissions in the sector account for 20% of EU greenhouse gas emissions and this figure is growing.
Professor McKinnon's report states that in order to measure its carbon footprint, the industry's strategy should focus on five areas, including modal split, supply chain structure and vehicle utilisation. "As transport costs represent a relatively large proportion of product value, companies are under intense pressure to maximise vehicle utilisation," it says. "Further down the supply chain, however, a combination of just-in-time pressures and product diversification is making it difficult for chemical companies to maintain load factors, let alone increase them."
It adds: "Many trucks carrying chemical products reach their maximum legal weight before all the available deck or cubic capacity is occupied. A relaxation of government weight restrictions from 40 tonnes to 44 tonnes across Europe would therefore permit greater load consolidation: