Companies adopt environmental sustainability programs mostly for one of three reasons: the customer asks for it, the government mandates it one way or another or the market demands it to remain competitive. But how do you know if the results of your green programs are measuring up? And how do you know if you are ready to respond when governments ramp up regulation of carbon emissions?

Unfortunately, there’s no single solution and standards vary widely. Nevertheless, transportation and logistics companies can still gain a firm grasp of the strengths and weaknesses in their sustainability programs, and develop a plan to position themselves for success as the playing field changes. They can start by taking stock of their total carbon emissions output.

The most obvious sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the supply chain are trucks and other vehicles, such as forklifts, which use fossil fuels and participate directly in the movement of freight. But when accounting for your company’s total carbon footprint, you’ve got to consider every aspect of your daily operations and how it relates to the environment. It means understanding more than the impact of trucks, it means evaluating everything from electricity levels to natural gas use and fully understanding your operations.

Lean tools and methodologies, such as value stream mapping, are especially valuable in helping understand carbon streams and how to drive out waste from them. Understanding the larger picture provides a more complete view of where to focus sustainability efforts. All of this analysis provides insight into the true impact of your organization’s supply chain on the environment.

There are different segments which influence sustainability, and different systems for measuring their impact. Understanding what measurement is most effective for which area of your operation is an important step to accurately and fully measuring the extent of your carbon footprint. These can include, among others, the GHG Protocol, the National Greenhouse Energy Reporting (NGER) Act, the Climate Registry Information System (CRIS), EPA’s SmartWay Transport Partnership and any custom systems. Creating a plan will help to identify your carbon emissions inventory with the various registries, and integrate them into one manageable and measurable program.

The ultimate goal is putting in place effective measurement tools that provide an accurate accounting of sources of carbon emissions, and how these affect your footprint. It’s imperative to creating meaningful, realistic and, most importantly, credible sustainability and carbon management programs. A number of organizations, including Menlo Worldwide, are developing the capabilities and methodologies to help companies manage this emerging challenge.

It’s not an issue of if carbon management and reporting will become a requirement, it’s when. There’s never been a better time to take action and position your company for success. The risks of waiting for an industry standard and not starting out on your own path are simply too high.

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