Path to Sustainable Project Logistics

By Carly Fields

In a world increasingly aware of its ecological footprint, the term “sustainability” has become a ubiquitous buzzword.

However, its interpretation varies widely among industries and businesses. Within project logistics, where the movement of goods is a crucial economic activity, deugro, a global logistics company, is taking strides to define and implement sustainability in a comprehensive manner.

“Sustainability is the buzzword. But what does it actually mean? Everyone’s using it slightly differently,” said Daniel Arndt, head of global shared service center/quality/marketing and communication at deugro.

He breaks down what sustainability means to deugro into distinct dimensions. “We look at it from an environmental sustainability perspective, breaking it down into different areas,” he explained. “The environmental part covers office setups, emissions, energy consumption, etc. Then we recently also established a CSR function within the business. That covers the human factor in sustainability, as well as the financial parts too.”

This holistic approach reflects deugro’s understanding that sustainability encompasses not only environmental concerns but also the well-being of people and the fiscal health of the organization.


Sustainability as a Business Imperative

Christian Schulz, regional sales director – Europe at deugro, highlighted that sustainability is not an option but a necessity for their business. “Sustainability for us is without alternative. It’s vital for our success because we contribute to our clients’ success in meeting climate targets.”

Schulz added that sustainability is not just a theoretical concept for deugro – it’s ingrained in their operations.

“We have a lot of initiatives happening,” Schulz noted. “For instance, CO2 reporting and calculation tools, which we offer by default as part of our supply chain offerings. We also have a lot of initiatives with offsetting.”

Partnering with EcoTransIT, deugro has set what Schulz described as an industry benchmark, enabling automated emissions calculations for sea and air freight at a shipment level. “It’s much more mature than it used to be a year or two years ago. We’re really setting industry standards on how to calculate the CO2 emissions.”

The proactive approach gives customers visibility into emissions and empowers them to make informed choices. Asserting deugro’s role as an industry front-runner, Schulz said: “We are used to being in the spotlight. Many companies compare themselves to us because we are usually one of the front runners.”

This status comes with a responsibility to influence positive change. Schulz underscored the company’s ability to provide alternative solutions that align with clients’ supply chain needs, ultimately reducing their carbon footprint.

“The bottom line is without meeting sustainability requirements, we won’t be considered going forward,” Schulz said. As the demand for sustainable solutions rises, deugro’s commitment becomes even more critical to secure its position as a preferred logistics partner.


Designing the Future of Logistics

The company’s innovative spirit is highlighted by an initiative designing customized offshore wind supply vessels in partnership with Amasus and Siemens Gamesa.

“This will set the scene for the new normal going forward,” Schulz said. “Our clients in particular expect innovative solutions which will contribute to reaching the COP26 goals.” This will, deugro said, set the benchmark for sustainable heavy-lift logistics, showcasing deugro’s commitment to shaping a greener future.

While deugro is driving sustainability, both Arndt and Schulz emphasized that the journey isn’t one traveled alone. “It’s all our duty in the end to make our contribution, but in the end, it needs to be also driven by governments and international institutions,” Schulz said.

The pair stressed the importance of collective effort and setting industry standards that align with a sustainable future, acknowledging that it is “our duty” to find solutions and to offer different options to deugro’s clients.


MAIN IMAGE: Rotra Vente delivering first wind turbine parts for the Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind farms. CREDIT: deugro