Earth Day 2023: How the Logistics Sector Can Help

EARTH DAY 2023

HOW THE LOGISTICS SECTOR CAN HELP INVEST IN OUR PLANET

For 2023, the theme of Earth Day on April 22 is “Invest in Our Planet” - a continuation of the theme in 2022, emphasizing the crucial role of communities, businesses and governments in protecting Planet Earth and working together to help solve the climate crisis.

As the fifth-largest truckload freight brokerage, and the largest non-asset intermodal provider in the United States, we recognize our significant environmental footprint on the planet. The recent COVID-19 pandemic also highlighted how vital the transportation sector is in addressing global supply chain issues. For these reasons and more, MODE Global appreciates and embraces the Earth Day theme for this year. We look forward to leaning into the crucial role our business plays in protecting Earth’s precious resources and take immense pride in doing our part to help solve the climate crisis.

Environmental protection is a priority for MODE, and we continue to evolve our processes and products to support our own and our customers' needs. Our CLO, MODE GLOBAL sector's biggest environmental challenge is its considerable contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

That same challenge presents a myriad of opportunities to do more to greenhouse protect the environment. For example, as a flexible and non-asset intermodal services provider, we strive to ensure our shipments take the most sustainable and efficient routes to reach their locations. Another important environmental consideration for the logistics and supply chain sector involves excess and wasteful packaging, which contributes to more incinerated, landfilled waste and waste thrown into our oceans every day. Incinerated and landfilled waste contributes to the harmful GHG emission, methane, which contributes to climate change.

SHARON JOHNSON

For Earth Day, we are sharing helpful solutions that can help reduce a company’s environmental impact. We hope that as a leader in the industry, we can inspire other companies in the transportation sector to invest in systems to reduce our collective environmental impact and protect our planet.

OPTIMIZING ROUTES As an EPA SmartWay Partner since 2011, we have gained significant expertise and experience in supply chain sustainability. Further, as one of the largest U.S.-based intermodal third-party logistics providers, we have experience optimizing routes in effort to further reduce carbon footprints significantly.

Through order consolidation, route/asset optimization and relocating inventory to allow more efficient routes for co-loading, we have reduced empty miles and avoided “deadhead” runs. We also utilize vendors and suppliers who are committed to environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives and utilizing electric vehicles within their fleet as a further step to reduce our overall footprint.

ADOPTING SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING Creating an eco-friendly supply chain that encourages using sustainable, reusable and less wasteful packaging not only can help companies reduce waste and long-term environmental impacts, but it can be a potential avenue toward improving profit margins.

Sustainable packaging options are increasing by the day. Examples include paper tapes, recycled materials, discarded newspapers, air peanuts and seaweed packaging. Other ways to save include reusing packaging when feasible. By considering these options, companies can make a long-term investment in our planet. Investing in sustainable packaging now reduces environmental harm, helping everyone to prepare for a future that will increasingly demand solutions with less environmental impact. It is a win-win for our planet, and for companies, large and small.

RECYCLING MATERIALS As a leader in sustainability within the industry, we want to encourage recipients to recycle all appropriate packaging when shipments are delivered to their final destinations. We are grateful to work with partners who value the importance of recycling and hope to continue to find ways to grow as allies in waste reduction and environmental protection. For example, some companies include clear instructions on packaging or within packages to educate recipients on what material can be recycled and how it can be conveniently recycled. Do you have ideas for how companies can work together to encourage recycling? We’d love to know! Please share via an email to ESGInfo@modeglobal.com.

SUMMARY Taking on responsibility to save a planet can feel daunting at times, but by starting small, learning from our experiences, sharing knowledge and then scaling up, we can accomplish so much!

Together, on Earth Day, let’s recommit to prioritizing environmental awareness within our organizations and across our supply chains to invest in our planet and make a lasting, sustainable impact for good.