Fields of Action: Transport and Logistics
- Impact factors on biological diversity
- Drivers of Business Cases
- Areas of Operation
- Tools
- Management Cycle Stages
Transporting raw materials and manufactured products as well as business travels leads to the emission of greenhouse gases and dust. Transportation infrastructure can fragment habitats, reducing their functionality and impeding natural genetic exchange. Furthermore, increasing goods transportation enables non-native species to invade new habitats, thereby displacing species native to the area.
Impact factors on biological diversity
Biodiversity includes the diversity of ecosystems and species as well as the genetic variation within the species. Biological diversity is the basis for a number of different services for people and the economy.
Habitat transformation
Space required for roads and storage
Roads and pipelines cross migratory species routes
Climate change
Power demand and CO2 emissions caused by transportation
Invasive species (Neobiota)
Spreading of invasive species by transport of resources and products
Overexploitation
Parking space management
Pollution
Separation of oil
Detergent and waste water
Particulate matter
Drivers of Business Cases
More permanent measures are those that simultaneously make a direct contribution to a company’s success while contributing to the conservation of biological diversity. In such cases a “business case for sustainability” or, more specifically, a “business case for biodiversity” is referred to.
A business case for biodiversity can be achieved through targeted, voluntary biodiversity conservation measures that go beyond the legal requirements, and work to strengthen a company’s competitive advantage. This is often aided by intelligently and efficiently complying with existing government regulations, such as wastewater treatment, which has positive effects on biodiversity.
The success of a corporate biodiversity management is linked to changes in one or more success-related variables called business case drivers.
Costs
Decreasing costs for transport and storage (for example, by increasing energy efficiency)
Sales and Price
Increasing turnover by passing on lower costs
Risk mitigation
Risk of rising fuel costs
Reputation and Brand Value
Reputation gain through climate friendly local production with short transport routes
Innovation
Development of new packaging systems or product distribution channels
Business models
Areas of Operation
Areas of operation in corporate structures organise the various fields of action in corporate biodiversity management. As is made clear through the cross-sectional nature of corporate biodiversity management systems, it is often possible and practical for departments to cooperate together.
Procurement
Approaches:
Product storage
Goals:
Reducing storage costs through just-in-time procurement
Production
Approaches:
Transport between different production sites Storage of (intermediate) products Transport as service product
Goals:
Reducing transport costs
Marketing
Approaches:
Short and climate friendly transport routes as competitive differentiation (“From the region for the region”)
Goals:
Gain in reputation through energy-saving transportation systems
Sales and Distribution
Approaches:
Transport und logistical processes
Goals:
Lowering transportation costs through driver training
Research and Development (R&D)
Approaches:
Development of new transport and packaging systems
Goals:
More efficient cooling systems
Best Practice Examples: HiPP GmbH & Co. KG – CO2 accounting analysis of the whole product cycle
An example of a sustainability indicator is a company’s CO2 footprint, which HiPP has introduced for its baby food product, “Pure Early Carrots”. They used the following indicators in their calculation: raw material production, the availability of adjuvants and packaging, energy consumption in production, transport, the use by the customers as well as disposal or recycling of waste. This forms the basis for carrying out a CO2 accounting analysis of the whole product cycle.
Human Resources
Approaches:
Health and safety in the workplace
Goals:
Lowering personnel costs and brain drain through better employee involvement
Tools
Corporate biodiversity management not only requires scientific and planned approaches, but also environmental management business methods.
For instance, the biological diversity of an area can be modelled with the help of regional surveys and field mapping. These evaluations can then become part a business’ decision-making and management processes.
Specific methods for corporate environmental management have not been readily available in the past. Furthermore, these tools can only be roughly assigned to phases of the management cycle, because some of them can be used in more than one of the phases. For example, “indicators and key ratios” are both an important part of determining the current state of biodiversity (for screening and success measurement) but are also the basis for planning future programmes.
The selection and usability of a tool depends on the function of the departments involved, the business case driver and the intended effect on the impact factors that, in turn, affect biodiversity.
In the following section the way a variety of tools can be applied to biodiversity will be specified.
Biodiversity SWOT
In the following fields of action this tool can be used:
Checklists
In the following fields of action this tool can be used:
Indicators and key ratios
In the following fields of action this tool can be used:
Best Practice Examples: HiPP GmbH & Co. KG – CO2 accounting analysis of the whole product cycle
An example of a sustainability indicator is a company’s CO2 footprint, which HiPP has introduced for its baby food product, “Pure Early Carrots”. They used the following indicators in their calculation: raw material production, the availability of adjuvants and packaging, energy consumption in production, transport, the use by the customers as well as disposal or recycling of waste. This forms the basis for carrying out a CO2 accounting analysis of the whole product cycle.
Management Cycle Stages
Using a systematic management “plan-do-check-act” cycle to implement a corporate biodiversity management process allows for proper business orientation, for example, as is used when part of the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) or ISO 14000.
Finding the business-specific relationship between company and biodiversity is, however, made more difficult by the complexity and extent of biodiversity (ecosystem, species, and genetic pool). The criteria “rareness” and “endangerment” of species and habitats act as a point of orientation. Aids in determining such threats to biodiversity such as the “Red List”, the European Union’s Habitats Directive along with the EU’s Birds Directive and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Scientific expertise is often required in cases where specific plans are made. This is an area where local environment and nature conservation groups can provide businesses with technical know-how, representing an opportunity to deepen the cooperation with regional NGOs.
Plan - P
The following tools are available during this phase:
Screen - S
The following tools are available during this phase:
Check - C
The following tools are available during this phase:
