Decarbonising supply chains is one of the most effective ways to improve sustainability in logistics, yet the industry is lagging behind. The need for collaboration is clear. โSustainability in logistics is not a one-off project; it can only be achieved if all stakeholders work togetherโ, says Nathalie Bรถhning, Innovation and Project Manager at the Open Logistics Foundation. โAfter all, no company can calculate its carbon footprint in full on its own. It requires data from suppliers, carriers, partners and platforms โ and this across many different systemsโ. If everyone uses their own formats and interfaces, the path to greater sustainability in logistics becomes rocky.
Interest is growing
To establish a common solution for exchanging emissions data, 16 members of the Open Logistics Foundation are now involved in the Working Group Enabling Logistics Decarbonisation (ELD) and its associated project Emissions Data Exchange. The initiative was launched by the international logistics provider Dachser because an increasing number of the companyโs customers โ ranging from automotive suppliers and consumer goods manufacturers to the chemical industry โ were requesting detailed information on the COโ emissions of their shipments. โIn addition to regulatory requirements obliging companies to systematically document supply chain emissions, many businesses are also increasingly taking a proactive interest in creating transparency regarding emission-intensive transport operations in order to then reduce them in a targeted mannerโ, explains Ingo Mรผller, Department Head of Prototyping & Testing at Dachser.
It thus became clear to the logistics service provider that its previous method of exchanging data via Excel spreadsheets would no longer meet future requirements and that the process needed to be significantly more digitised and automated. Ingo Mรผller continued, โSo it was clear to us right from the start: we need a standardised solution that works for everyone involved and for the entire industry! After all, creating individual interfaces for a large number of customers would entail significant implementation and maintenance costs and, in the long term, lead to a diversity of systems that would be difficult to manageโ. Dachserโs push for ‘one solution for all’ was met with broad approval among the members of the Open Logistics Foundation.
Starting point: iLEAP
At the same time, the Working Group formed, Smart Freight Centre and SINE Foundation (see profiles at the bottom) unveiled the iLEAP protocol. It defines the structure, collection and transmission of emissions data, thereby creating a digital standard that ensures reproducibility, consistency and interoperability across software systems. It enables emissions data to be shared in a standardised manner between companies, partners and authorities. It is based on the GLEC Framework and the associated ISO 14083 standard, the globally recognised methodology for calculating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions consistently across the multimodal logistics supply chain.
This methodology is now, in the EU context, the methodological backbone of CountEmissionsEU, part of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The iLEAP protocol increases transparency and traceability throughout the entire supply chain โ even when a shipment passes through multiple companies โ whilst supporting compliance with regulatory requirements such as the CSRD.Furthermore, iLEAP boosts operational efficiency: emissions metrics can be closely linked to operational data such as fuel consumption or route planning. In this way, emissions reporting becomes an active management tool, not merely a regulatory obligation.
A key principle of iLEAP is open source development. โDeveloping the protocol as open source allows companies of all sizes to participate in developing and later adopting the protocolโ, writes Violetta Matzoros of the Smart Freight Centre, Senior Technical Manager, Data & Digitalization โ Methods, Standards & Assurance at Smart Freight Centre, in her Expertsโ blog. โThis creates a collaborative ecosystem for emissions accounting in logisticsโ. For the Working Group and the Open Logistics Foundation project, iLEAP proved to be an ideal starting point and basis for further development.
Productive use cases
The first use cases have now been carried out, in which members of the Open Logistics Foundation have implemented and tested the interface. Two of these use cases were worked on by logistics service providers in collaboration with a platform for analysing transport emissions data:
- Dachser partnered with Gryn. The Hamburg-based company enables logistics firms to automatically record, standardise, and analyse transport emissions, and to use them for sustainability and regulatory reporting.
- LKW WALTER partnered with the Norwegian company Kinver, a consolidation and analysis platform.
In both use cases, the logistics service providers made emissions-related data on transport operations for a shared customer available to the platforms โ in Dachserโs case, an international automotive supplier; in LKW WALTERโs case, a global market leader in cleaning technology. The main differences lie in the interface hosting: at Dachser, the Gryn platform served as the host, whilst at LKW WALTER, the logistics service provider itself acted as the host. Both projects were successfully completed following the full go-live of iLEAP.
The effort involved in implementing the interface was relatively manageable. At Dachser, the project took around four weeks of working time, spread over a period of three months. The data exchange was set up in stages to enable testing and expansion of the functionality in successive phases. Initially, data exchange was carried out manually. At the same time, semi-automatic data transfer functionality was implemented.
At LKW WALTER, the implementation took a little longer because, unlike Dachser, the company hosted the iLEAP interface itself. The main technical challenge lay in authentication. Unlike traditional methods that use tokens valid for a specific period, iLEAP uses TANs โ one-time tokens for a single data query. However, an extension to the API connector quickly resolved this issue. At the same time, two-factor authentication was implemented โ an important security mechanism for distinguishing authorised from unauthorised requests. An additional layer of complexity in the use case arose from the fact that, as a specialist in intermodal transport, LKW WALTER had to verify whether and how this could be mapped within iLEAP. It became clear that iLEAP processes the relevant data points regardless of the sequence of transport modes.
In conclusion, the two use cases have demonstrated that the iLEAP interface works with standard ERP and TMS systems โ including SAP โ and that all of these systems provide the data points required by iLEAP.
An app store for logistics data
The implementation of the iLEAP interface creates added value for both logistics service providers and shippers. The immediate benefit lies in a seamless flow of data between the two. โThe real added value, however, lies in scalability and standardisationโ, says Karsten Kopland, Head of Product Management/CPO at Kinver. Specifically, the advantage for logistics service providers is the ability to process and provide shipment data in a consistent format for all customers, thereby reducing complexity and the need for duplicate integrations. Kopland adds that, โFor shippers, we can now provide a kind of app store for logistics data. Companies can simply select their transport service providers there and retrieve standardised data streams with minimal integration effort. Carriers can be connected with just a few clicks and their data consolidated on a central platform โ for analyses, sustainability reports or integration into further internal business processesโ.
Mission accomplished
Dachser and LKW WALTER also draw a positive conclusion from their use cases. Ingo Mรผller says, โiLEAP has proven itself to be practical and will therefore become the interface of choice at Dachserโ. Michael Gschwandtner, Chief Digital Officer (CDO) at LKW WALTER, agrees: โWe too will rely on iLEAP for the exchange of emissions data in future. This provides our customers with a simple, secure and, moreover, cost-effective solutionโ. The work of the Working Group and the project thus exemplifies what the Open Logistics Foundation stands for. Here, companies develop well-thought-out solutions for practical use that take into account the perspectives of many market participants and which then spread rapidly across the market via the companies involved in the project and the use cases. Ingo Mรผller and Michael Gschwandtner agree: โAs our two companies together reach a very large number of end customers across Europe and worldwide, by using the new iLEAP interface, we are laying an important foundation for it to gradually become the industry standard. Mission accomplished!โ
Way conducts trials in Northern Europe
The Finnish start-up Way Data Technologies, also a member of the Working Group and project, has tested the interface in an additional use case. The company operates a platform that collects and analyses telematics and vehicle data from transport fleets. Way piloted the iLEAP interface with several fleets in Scandinavia. The implementation has already been released as open source. The company is also preparing to take part in the pilot project for iLEAP certification. โOur goal is to improve transparency and accuracy in COโ accounting by making it easier for all players in the transport and logistics chain to access and exchange carbon footprints based on primary dataโ, says Juho Hyytiรคinen, CEO and co-founder of Way.
Logistics sites are following
In another use case, Fraunhofer IML is investigating the extent to which the iLEAP interface is also suitable for exchanging emissions data from logistics sites. This is based on the REff Toolยฎ (short for Resource Efficiency at Logistics Sites), a web-based application developed at the institute to determine greenhouse gas emissions from logistics sites, such as warehouses, transhipment sites or distribution facilities. The tool helps companies collect primary data โ such as energy consumption, refrigeration systems, or other on-site consumption โ and use it to calculate and report their carbon footprint in accordance with the ISO 14083 standard. Currently, more than 100 companies use the REff Toolยฎ at over 1.000 sites. Relevant information can be exported as an XML file and imported into other systems for further processing.
โThe aim of this use case is to address current challenges in exchanging data from the REff Toolยฎ with another system via iLEAP and to develop practical solutions. To this end, we have examined whether all relevant data for logistics sites is also contained in iLEAP and how the data should be prepared and made available for the interfaceโ, explains Dr.-Ing. Kerstin Dobers, Senior Scientist and Deputy Head of the โSustainability and Circular Economyโ department at Fraunhofer IML.
The partner for this use case is the Hannover-based company IVE mbH, which offers EcoTransIT World, a software solution for complex calculations and optimisation of emissions and energy consumption in intermodal transport. EcoTransIT World is used by shippers, logistics providers and transport companies worldwide, which also transmit data from the REff Toolยฎ, amongst other sources. IVE is participating in the use case to actively support standardisation in sustainability.
For sustainability researcher Kerstin Dobers, this use case is yet another step towards greater sustainability in logistics. โWe cannot achieve sustainability in logistics overnight,โ she says. โIt is, rather, a journey comprising many steps that will lead us towards sustainable logistics solutions and servicesโ.
All results from the use cases are, or will be, documented in the Open Logistics Repository. Companies wishing to implement iLEAP can draw on the insights and experience gained there, enabling them to roll out the system more quickly
About Smart Freight Centre
Smart Freight Centre (SFC), founded in 2013, is a globally active non-profit organisation (NGO) for climate action in the freight sector based in the Netherlands. SFC works to mobilise the global logistics ecosystem, in particular its members and partners, to track and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It accelerates the reduction of logistics emissions to achieve a zero-emission global logistics sector by 2050 or earlier. To support this objective, SFC develops and disseminates methods, standards and tools โ such as the globally recognised GLEC framework or ISO standard 14083 โ for the consistent calculation and reporting of emissions along the supply chain. The organisation promotes collaboration between businesses, policymakers and NGOs to implement practical decarbonisation solutions and strengthen the exchange of knowledge and technology. Together with the SINE Foundation, SFC has developed the iLEAP interface as a shared organisational and technical framework for exchanging emissions data. Smart Freight Centre is a network partner of the Open Logistics Foundation.
www.smartfreightcentre.org
SINE Foundation
The SINE Foundation is a non-profit organisation based in Berlin turning pioneering research in the fields of cryptography and economics into action. This โthink and do tankโ combines technology (e.g., cryptographic software) with governance mechanisms to enable companies and organisations to share data securely and with confidence, without losing control over sensitive information. A key area of focus is promoting sustainable collaboration, for example, through protocols such as PACT for CO2 transparency or the iLEAP data interface. In this way, the organisation aims to pave the way for a more collaborative and sustainable economy.
www.sine.foundation
