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Miljøvenlig blomstertransport

3. Summary

Transport and the environment

The impact of transport on the environment is one of the most essential considerations in efforts to achieve sustainable development. Since the beginning of the 1980s road transport of goods has increased by 45% in Europe. This increase in road transport has among other things led to an increase of 35% in CO₂ emissions from road traffic in the period from 1985 to 1995.

The main purpose of introducing the depot concept is that all vehicles are to run with loads, so that journeys with empty packaging are reduced to a minimum.

Evaluation of environmental impact from changes in logistics

The evaluation of the impact on the environment covers Container Centralen's use of the returnable container system for transporting pot plants in Europe. The environmental evaluation is based on the Danish sale of pot plants and is divided into two possible set-ups, 1 and 2, where Set-up 1 is the distribution of plants without the depot concept (as at present), and Set-up 2 is the distribution of plants according to the depot concept.

The environmental evaluation includes evaluation of transport in connection with the container system and an evaluation of the handling of CC containers at depots. The transport evaluation is an assessment based on the physical transport of plants and chiefly makes use of statistics from the logistics centre and also the experiences of Container Centralen. The calculated consumption and emissions figures are reached by means of factors set out in the handbook "Miljøstyring og transport - Håndbog for små og mellemstore virksomheder" (Environmental management and transport – Handbook for small and medium-sized enterprises).

The environmental evaluation and the handling of CC containers at depots affects both the environment and working conditions. The method used to evaluate the effects on the environment and working conditions of handling the CC containers at depots was developed by MiljøFyn A/S and is based on a division into three areas for evaluation: assessment of quantity, distribution and effect. The evaluation was carried out at a container workplace at a plant nursery and on the basis of information from Container Centralen.

Reduction in transport kilometres

From the evaluation of the effects on the environment of the planned expansion of Container Centralen's present flower transport system and the introduction of a depot concept it can be seen that the expansion will result in improvements both in environmental impact and in working conditions.

The primary improvement lies in the reduced distance in kilometres driven with empty containers. This leads to a reduction of 4% in the total consumption and emissions in connection with container distribution.

In addition considerable improvements can be made in working conditions if the handling of CC containers is centralised at depots, since this will make it possible to invest in automatic container-handling equipment.

Automation of container handling will at the same time involve a minor increase in the environmental impact of the depots, since a certain consumption of fuel and raw materials will result from running the equipment.

The environmental evaluation is based on the Danish sale of plants. It is not possible to forecast how much greater the savings could be if the depot concept was extended to the whole of Europe. Conditions in other countries are very different from those in Denmark. Local trade is far greater. For example, it would not be economic for a German nurseryman in the Hamburg area to send plants out of the region, since the net demand results in far greater imports in the Hamburg area. For these reasons it is not possible to apply results originating from the situation in Denmark to the rest of Europe.

Transport

Transport consumption and emissions before and after the implementation of the depot concept can be seen in Figure 1. The results of the environmental evaluation of transport show that extending Container Centralen's returnable container system with a depot concept in the Danish plant sales area will lead to a 4% reduction of consumption and emissions.

The calculated figures for consumption and emissions from the first set-up, Set-up 1 in figure 3.9, have been reached via calculations as described in section 3.6 Method on the basis of collected data.

The savings on Set-up 2 were calculated on the basis of the assumption that the depot concept will make it possible to make use of 15-20% of the containers which are now transported from Denmark to other countries at sites other than on the producer's premises, and that they therefore need not be transported back to Denmark. In the project the calculations are based on a 15% saving.

Calculation of the number of kilometres saved when 15% of the empty containers need not be transported back to Denmark is based on the number of vehicles with average loads which will not need to return to Denmark with empty containers. The return transport to Denmark saved for each vehicle is assumed to be half of the average distance to a customer abroad. The saving is calculated to be 3,057,325 km.

In addition the calculated saving in the second set-up includes the saving which results since Container Centralen can reduce the number of complete loads of new containers to be transported abroad, since these new containers can be distributed from Denmark when plants are exported. The number of kilometres saved in this way are estimated on the basis of figures drawn from the transport level for new containers experienced today. This saving is estimated to be 159,000 km.

Fuel consumption and emissions in connection with transport are calculated as the average for a year on the basis of collected data and the emission factors corresponding to the types of vehicle used. The collected data and the statement of environmental impact apply exclusively to the transport of empty and full containers. The distances driven by the haulage contractor with other loads after all CC containers have been delivered are not included in the calculations.

Depots

Changes in the environment and working conditions which will result from the implementation of the depot concept are illustrated in Figure 2. By expanding the Container Centralen returnable container system through the depot concept it will be possible to achieve an essential reduction of the effects on working conditions in handling CC containers at depots, but at the same time there will be a minor increase in environmental impact. There will be a slight increase in the amount of refuse because it is expected that the use of the CC shelf dispenser will lead to a considerably more efficient removal of defective parts. Running the CC shelf dispenser will require a certain low-level consumption of fuel and raw materials.

Base frames are no longer handled manually, leading to another quite essential improvement. Among other things the weight limits that may be lifted manually can be observed in practice. The task of lifting shelves manually from stacking sets has been eliminated, which means that a considerable amount of work at high and low levels with twisting of the body is no longer necessary. There have been considerable reductions in the combination of aggravating conditions in the former routine, with heavy work, work at high and low levels and twisting of the body, since each of these factors has been reduced individually. The ergonomic improvements are the most significant in Set-up 2.

Figure 1 Se her!
Summary of the environmental impact resulting from transport with the Container Centralen returnable container system

Figure 2
Changes in environmental impact and working conditions after implementation of the depot concept

Spin-off effects

The development of standardised transport packaging which can be used for goods regardless of their brand will mean a reduction in the use of non-returnable packaging. To give an example, the need for the disposable trays used for holding pots in CC containers could be reduced if returnable frames were designed instead.

By developing standard forms of transport packaging for fruit, vegetables and convenience goods it will be possible to simplify distribution, as it will no longer depend on the return of specific packaging. A single standard crate for soft drinks would for example eliminate the need for collecting specific crates with the right brand name, as it would be possible simply to use the crates that were nearest.

Furthermore, if general depots were set up at traffic junction points which were the same for the distribution of flowers, fruit and vegetables as well as convenience goods, a synergic effect can be achieved, which reinforces the effects of the individual systems.

Application of the depot concept to individual product groups or to several will thus allow more flexible planning of transport, since empty packaging can be delivered independently from the collection of different types of packaging.

The depot concept will similarly lighten the pressure for time in the convenience chain distribution terminals, where goods may often be delivered under great pressure because of the need to deliver large quantities of goods within the same time interval. This pressure is increased when the drivers who deliver goods must at the same time collect empty packaging. By setting up a depot at each distribution terminal it is possible to handle full and empty packaging separately and reduce the pressure for time.

In addition the depot concept will allow for a larger buffer capacity of packaging for use in connection with seasonal fluctuations, as the problems of packaging management will be reduced.

The depot concept allows the haulage contractor free disposition over the whole of the vehicle's capacity once the goods have been unloaded, since the empty containers can be unloaded at the same time as the goods. Thus the haulage contractor can plan right from the outset at which depot it is most suitable to deliver the empty containers in relation to where the goods are to be unloaded or a possible return load collected. In this way the haulage contractor can organise the journeys to make optimal use of vehicle capacity and drive the minimum number of kilometres.

Instead of making return journeys with empty containers the haulage contractor can thus carry a return load which it would otherwise be necessary to fetch in separate vehicles. This results in a total saving in the number of vehicles which must be sent to other countries.

The depot concept under which customers and haulage contractors can deliver containers to a local depot and receive the same quantity delivered at their premises will mean that the circulation time for CC containers can be reduced. Container Centralen's experience shows that the average circulation time for a container is approximately six weeks. This means that each container can circulate eight times a year. The depot concept will make it possible to increase circulation, for example to nine times a year. In this way the same number of plants can be transported using 1.7 million containers instead of using two million containers as at present. Fewer containers in circulation will also mean resources are saved.

If the depot concept is exploited to the full, the delivery of goods (flowers in the first case) will become more competitive compared with other forms of delivery for the same product group. This will make the product group more competitive, since lower transport costs result in lower prices.

By developing more types of standard packaging it is also possible to increase the use of transport combinations such as rail and road transport. If a pan-European packaging system was developed with uniform management systems, then much of the pressure on timing and the planning problems would be eased in the transport system, making it possible to use railways or other transport for non-urgent deliveries.