Almost the entire policy debate on decarbonisation in recent times has been about the vehicle itself, or the recharging/refuelling infrastructure.
Much less discussion has been heard around transport and logistics operations: how they are likely to be affected, and what can be done to reduce emissions without compromising efficiency. Although the current 15% target is voluntary, the UK Government is committed to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years and expects the road freight transport industry to play its part, implementing additional changes to their vehicles, working practices and operations.
SMMT has been a long-standing supporter of the Centre for Sustainable Road Freight project. And to address the issues outlined above, they have put together a survey to better understand the challenges that road freight companies face in decarbonising their operations.
Please use the following link to start the survey: https://bit.ly/SRFUoWsurvey
Your response to this will enable the findings to be communicated to the UK Government and other organisations and bodies, and to develop tools tailored specifically to the needs of small, medium, and large businesses.
All responses will be treated as strictly confidential, and participants will receive a final report summarising the results, with free access to any future tools developed over the course of the research.
If you would like to know more about the project, please contact Maja Piecyk (M.Piecyk@westminster.ac.uk) or Julian Allen (allenj@westminster.ac.uk).
Finally, in entirely separate but important news, SMMT has established a new hub to support members impacted by the events in Ukraine.
We condemn the Russian state’s aggression against Ukraine and while inevitably there will be an impact on the sector, SMMT will support its members in their efforts both to protect their staff who may be affected as well as with the pressures it will put on their business. The latest updates, including a webinar, are available from our Ukraine Hub.