“ You can ’ t manage what you can ’ t measure , right ? So the first thing that I do in a company , programme or project is to familiarise myself with the emissions data , often called emission inventories .”

“ As is the case for all aspects of sustainability , the first step to reducing environmental impact is to measure it , or as I like to say , you can ’ t manage what you can ’ t measure ,” Catherine echoes . “ Understanding the ‘ what , where and when ’ of your carbon footprint is vital to create a targeted emissions reduction strategy , and provide a benchmark to measure results against .”

In the freight and transport industry however , emissions data can be complex . Many of the emissions come from mobile sources that move around the world , as well as third party suppliers .

Naturally , as companies start to focus on Scope 3 emissions , the pressure on logistics and freight companies – whose emissions make up a large part of Scope 3 emissions for other companies – to report on emissions increases .

“ I spend a lot of time making sure that we have the data that we need to make decisions and that we have identified the areas where we need to improve our data ,” Sarah explains .

142 September 2024