Background: For many logistics service providers and shippers sustainable transport is still a relatively recent issue, even if almost every transportation company is engaged in sustainability. Each has had different experiences with making transportation more sustainable. By looking at the efforts and successes of others sharing these experiences could help shippers and logistics service providers to obtain new innovative ideas of how to become more sustainable.
The certification organization Green Freight Europe (GFE) wants to develop a database for these types of experiences in order to encourage its members to generate sustainable initiatives.
Method: In support of this plan, we interviewed several logistics service providers and shippers and conducted a brief survey among GFE members.
Results: Sustainability forms one of the goals for all interviewed companies mainly based on cost reduction but followed closely as a tool to attract new customers. At the moment, the information obtained to keep updated on sustainability comes mainly from truck producers and not from information from best cases from other logistics service providers.
Conclusions: We have found that there is a willingness to submit best cases, but also a fear that the submitter will miss his competitive advantage by telling others about his innovations.