In November 2021, project44 became the first and only supply chain visibility platform to sign on to The Climate Pledge. As a signatory, project44 committed to the following:
- Regular reporting: Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis.
- Carbon elimination: Implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through business change and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies.
- Credible offsets: Neutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially beneficial offsets to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040.
While The Climate Pledge outlines the actions we must take as a company, we’re not content to stop there. As part of our overall commitment to sustainability, we recently announced $80 million in a new round of strategic funding led by Generation Investment Management and A.P. Moller Holding. This new funding will be used to expand upon our sustainability offerings and to ultimately provide a solution for Scope 3 emissions monitoring.
Scope 3 Emissions
project44 is uniquely positioned to measure the carbon footprint of supply chains, which account for 60% of global emissions. Scope 3 emissions, which encompass most supply chain emissions, are indirect emissions from activities and assets not owned or controlled by the company. According to Accenture, only 16% of companies currently measure these emissions at an advanced level.
We’re aiming to change that with our latest round of funding, which will allow us to build a system for measuring Scope 3 supply chain emissions across all regions and modes of transportation. In doing so, we hope to empower shippers and freight forwarders to optimize not just for cost and performance, but also emissions.
Emissions visibility will also prepare our customers to meet new carbon reporting requirements under International Maritime Organization (IMO) 2023 and the European Union’s proposed corporate sustainability reporting directive (CSRD), which calls for companies to measure and report scope 3 emissions.
Fleet Sustainability Index
In addition to tools that will allow project44 customers to measure their emissions, project44 and The University of Tennessee, Knoxville partnered to build the Fleet Sustainability Index. This clean truck index is a practical solution that will help shippers with their Scope 3 emissions strategy now and into the future.
This Index includes manufacturer, make, model, engine type, fuel efficiency, and model year for more than 70% of the Class 8 trucks on the road in the United States. Data is sourced from government sources without the need for carrier input. By contrast, the prevailing clean truck index on the market, the EPA SmartWay, only includes about 20% of the Class 8 trucks on the road in North America and requires about 200 hours of carriers’ time to provide data – so only the largest fleets, not necessarily the cleanest, are part of EPA SmartWay.
The Fleet Sustainability Index provides shippers, brokers, and carriers the ability to:
- Run sustainability transportation procurement events
- Benchmark carriers vs. industry averages and other carriers
- Reduce emissions without significant cost increases by having more carriers to choose from
- Make meaningful progress against Carbon Neutral / Net Zero goals
A similar index in the EU is forthcoming as are additional partnerships with other supply chain research universities.
Looking Ahead
As climate crises continue to impact supply chains globally, it’s clear that now is the time for action. We look forward to continuing to work internally and with our customers, partners, and investors to build more sustainable, greener, and cleaner supply chains.
You can learn more about our commitment to sustainability here.