It Ain’t Easy Being Green…

By Roy Thacker

…At least not when you move freight for a living.

We all know that the transportation industry has a huge impact on the environment. In fact, our sector is one of Canada’s biggest contributors to Greenhouse Gasses (GHG’s) which, according to HRSDC and Statistics Canada, were responsible for “nearly three quarters of carbon monoxide emissions, more than half of nitrogen oxide emissions, and more than one-quarter of the volatile organic compounds affecting air quality” in 2004. Most indicators suggest this number is still growing.

For those of you who have been living under a rock over the past few years, GHG’s are those nasty emissions that contribute to global warming. Scientists, researchers and academics everywhere are blaming global warming on an increasingly alarming chain of events that include rising sea levels, melting ice caps, intensified and unpredictable weather patterns and much more.

While more stringent standards, cleaner technologies and increasingly efficient practices have gone a long way over the past several years to reduce the negative impact the transportation industry is having on our planet, the sector remains a critical bloodline to the Canadian economy, accounting for a significant 12.2% of the country’s GDP (2006). This continued growth is reversing the positive effect of our current efforts, making it more important than ever for the transportation industry to take some bolder steps toward reducing the impact we are having on the planet.

If the whole idea of moral duty and making sure we have a livable planet to leave behind for our children and grandchildren isn’t enough to get you thinking green, what about the idea that the very existence of the trucking industry may depend on our knuckling down to reduce our carbon footprint?

Increasingly, people are starting to notice the starving polar bears, the never-ending droughts, the destructive floods and the disastrous hurricanes. Industries everywhere are under more pressure to take responsibility for their contribution to this mess, with many scrambling to develop ‘Corporate Social Responsibility ’plans to show wavering stakeholders that they are committed to more than just bottom line-profits, but to society and the environment as well.

Despite the current dependence the public has on the transportation industry, our sector is far from immune to this paradigm shift. The public is starting to sit up and take notice of the impact their purchasing decisions have on the environment, with many starting to see the difference they can make by doing simple things like buying local food and products. Still not convinced? Just Google the term ‘100-mile-diet’ and see what comes up.

There is even talk in some circles about replacing high-emissions producing trucks altogether. In Europe and the US, for example, there has been significant debate over using mega trucks versus rail shipping, with many saying that railway systems are a more sustainable option when it comes to moving people and freight.

While our sector has certainly taken some major steps in the right direction in terms of reducing emissions and increasing efficiency, we should really be kicking things into high gear: Not only do we need to show the public that we are serious about evolving with the times, but we may well need to turn the industry as we know it on its head if we are to survive in what is fast becoming the new ‘environmental’ economy.

Wondering how you can start the greening process within your organization? Stay tuned for the next edition of Road Today where we talk about what some of Canada’s leading transportation industry players are doing to reduce their carbon footprint.

Roy Thacker is the CEO of Load Surfer, an online freight and equipment matching company serving the Canadian market. He is a CMA with over xx years’ of experience in various executive and management positions within the transportation industry. He can be reached by calling 1-800-705-7782.