Saskia Seidel

Challenges and Future Research Needs towards International Freight Transport Modelling

The advanced internationalisation of markets and production processes continuously adds to the complexity of supply chains. At the same time improving the sustainability of the related international freight transport processes and optimising their efficiency is becoming a topic of central relevance. International freight transport models are an important tool to simulate impacts of measures taken to achieve such improvements of transport processes. Yet, the requirements towards international freight transport models are complex: they need to include various modes of transport, they need to cover different industries and their dynamics, they need to consider seasonality of supply and demand of goods, demographic parameters, economic developments, technological developments including their impact on production processes and structures, and many other aspects. Furthermore, international freight transport models need to include freight flows within countries as well as freight flows between the considered countries. This paper discusses the challenges which need to be confronted when developing international freight transport models which are able to correspond to the described complexity of international freight transport. Furthermore, it maps out the most important research gaps which need to be addressed by international freight transport modelling research in order to ensure that the challenges identified are captured within the models developed to improve international freight transport.

A Standardisation of the Calculation of CO2(e) Emissions Along Supply Chains: Challenges and Requirements Beyond EN 16258

European countries are expected to reduce their total annual Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by at least 20 % by 2020 and by 60–80 % by 2050, compared to 1990 emission levels. In order to achieve such reductions of emissions and thus to optimise their efficiency and effectiveness, it is necessary to be able to compare different supply chains. Standards for the calculation of CO2 emissions are a prerequisite for such comparability. In the past, different organisations, corporates and interest groups have developed approaches for a CO2 emission calculation standard. Given the diverse background and motivation of these players the resulting calculation approaches often are not compatible or complementary. With EN 16258 a first step towards a European standardisation has been taken. This research analyses in how far EN 16258 is able to build a basis for a global CO2 emission calculation standard. Furthermore, it reflects how currently on-going work and efforts worldwide can lead to a further convergence of existing emission calculation tools.

Güterverkehre des Handels: Eine Auswertung der KiD 2010 als Beitrag zur Güterverkehrssystemanalyse

Guterverkehrsdaten werden grostenteils nur auf makroskopischer Ebene veroffentlicht, wie beispielsweise von EUROSTAT oder dem Kraftfahrt- Bundesamt (KBA). Fur die Analyse des Guterverkehrssystems konnen diese Daten nur begrenzt eingesetzt werden, da sie lediglich das Gesamtaufkommen wiedergeben und somit Details zu einzelnen Fahrten fehlen. Dieser Artikel soll einen Beitrag zur Verkehrssystemanalyse leisten, indem die Fahrten und Touren anhand von mikroskopischen Daten ausgewertet werden. Die Analyse erfolgt am Beispiel des Wirtschaftszweigs Handel, dem als einflussreicher Akteur im Warendistributionssystem eine besondere Bedeutung zukommt. Als Datenbasis dient die Erhebung Kraftfahrzeugverkehr in Deutschland 2010 (KiD 2010). Im Fokus stehen Fragen nach den Einsatzgebieten, Fahrweiten, Tourenmustern oder Quelle-Ziel-Relationen der Fahrzeuge im Handel. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die einzelnen Fahrten vergleichsweise geringe Distanzen bedienen, insbesondere dann, wenn es sich um Pkw und Lkw < 3,5 t handelt.

Global Standardisation of the Calculation of CO2 Emissions Along Transport Chains - Gaps, Approaches, Perspectives of the Global Alignment Process

The transport industry, consumers, shippers and political bodies are all pressing for a global standard for the calculation of emissions along supply chains. Comparability of the chains’ efficiency, reduction of energy consumption, transparency of the carbon footprint of products and identification of best practice are at the core of the need for such a standard. It has several important pre-conditions though: it needs to be globally applicable, cover all modes of transport and all supply chain elements, it needs to be easy to use and transparent in its mechanisms. Furthermore, it must be clear and concise, particularly in its requirements towards quality of data used for emission calculations, whether it is measured, standard or default values. In order to meet these requirements and to ensure the standard’s acceptance, its development needs to be industry-led. Additionally, the standard needs to balance the aspects of ease of use, transparency and flexibility. Several steps into that direction have been taken, such as: EN 16258, GHG Protocol, ISO 14064, ISO/TS 14067, standards developed by IATA, Smart Way and Green Freight Europe or tools and approaches such as EcoTransIT or GreenEfforts and many more. So far there is no standard in place though that aims at the specific transport chain requirements, is globally applicable and covers all supply chain elements as well as all modes. It is the aim of this paper to show in more detail, based on the findings of real-life test cases, which existing gaps need to be addressed in a next step of standardisation efforts. Furthermore, the paper describes which approaches and perspectives offer themselves from a combined industry-research perspective for the development of a standard for emissions along transport chains.