DC Velocity - January 2017

IN THIS ISSUE, WE FEATURE TWO STORIES ON THE SUPPLY chain in the Netherlands. It is, after all, the logistics heart of Europe. Over half of Europe’s DCs are located in the Netherlands, and its network of highway, rail, and water routes is among the best in the world.

With so much freight being transported across the nation’s borders, it’s good to see that the Dutch are also leaders in supply chain sustainability. They’ve established a program known as Lean and Green that’s similar to the SmartWay partnership between the Environmental Protection Agency and the transportation industry in the U.S. Both programs are part of a worldwide effort to meet the Paris Agreement goal of cutting CO2 emissions by 60 percent by 2050.

The Dutch government provided initial funding for the Lean and Green initiative, which it launched in 2008. It kicked off the project by conducting a study to identify the sectors responsible for CO2 emissions, eventually determining that they came nearly equally from three sources: international transit (ports and airports), delivery (urban logistics), and small vans and work vehicles.

Lean and Green started out with just 10 partners. Today, it has more than 450. Connekt, a Dutch nonprofit network for sustainable mobility, coordinates the program, which is now funded through membership fees.

Member companies that present a plan of action to reduce CO2 emissions by 20 percent within five years are eligible for the Lean and Green Award. Such a plan might include optimizing routes, reducing carton sizes, using smaller trucks, reducing empty miles, utilizing rail and barge, and switching to alternative fuels.

An independent third party evaluates the proposal to determine if it’s feasible. If it gets the go-ahead, the applicant executes the plan, making changes within its own operations and working with its suppliers, carriers, and other partners to achieve the goals.

Once a company reaches its target, it receives a Lean and Following the program’s initial success in the Netherlands, How effective has Lean and Green been in its first decade? So far, CO2 emissions have been slashed by more than half a million tons—all the better to keep those beautiful tulips in Holland blooming brightly.

bigpicture

Chief Editor
Lean and green in the Netherlands
David Maloney
Chief Editor
dmaloney@dcvelocity.com
Karen Bachrach
Executive Editor - Features
karen@dcvelocity.com
Mark Solomon
Executive Editor - News
mark@dcvelocity.com
Martha Spizziri
Managing Editor - Digital
martha@dcvelocity.com
Ben Ames
Senior Editor
ben@dcvelocity.com
Toby Gooley
Senior Editor
tgooley@dcvelocity.com
Susan Lacefield
Editor at Large
slacefield@dcvelocity.com
Steve Geary
Editor at Large
sgeary@dcvelocity.com
Diane Rand
Associate Editor–Digital
diane@dcvelocity.com
Erica E. Mac Donald
Assistant Editor
Keisha Capitola
Director of Creative Services
keisha@dcvelocity.com
Jeff Thacker
Director of eMedia
jeff@dcvelocity.com
Columnists:
Clifford F. Lynch
Art van Bodegraven
Gary Master
Publisher
gmaster@dcvelocity.com
Mitch Mac Donald
Group Editorial Director
mitch@dcvelocity.com
Peter Bradley
Editorial Director
peter@dcvelocity.com
Jim Indelicato
Group Publisher
jindelicato@dcvelocity.com
EDITORIAL OFFICE
Tower Square, Number 4