Launched in 2019 as one of the Group’s ongoing actions,more sustainable transport initiatives have now been deployed in 34 cities in 13 countries. In 2021, a number of initiatives were implemented combining deliveries on bicycles,in biogas and electric vehicles, which also contributes to a reduction of emissions of fine particles in urban areas.
For example, in 2021, as part of the overall decarbonisation strategy in the North Asia Zone, the Group introduced cargo bikes in Tokyo in Japan, a key country in the region.
In China, 70% of urban deliveries in Shanghai use more sustainable vehicles (electric, biofuel, and gas).
The Group’s goal is to expand this programme to 50 cities by 2025.
4. Performance management, an important aspect of the Group’s strategy
For several years, the Group committed to a sustainable decarbonisation policy and has implement robust action plans that are specific to each country.
Digitalisation that facilitates access to data is a strategic vector: by analysing the precise data associated with the upstream and downstream transport from the distribution centres of the Group’s commercial subsidiaries, the supply chain and transport teams are thus able to prioritize their actions according to their impact.
This regular monitoring of action plans and performance across all modes of transport used is key to provide internal and external stakeholders with the visibility they need to implement the Group’s carbon footprint reduction strategy.
Thus, the Global Freight Cockpit was developed and deployed in 2020. These tools monitor all the Group’s air and sea flows. In addition, the Transport Management Systems(TMS), which are operational in a number of countries, give access to operational data for a pertinent and precise analysis of performance.
5. Working in partnership with the stakeholders in its ecosystem: a key driver of the Group’s carbon footprint reduction roadmap
The Group selects and assesses its suppliers and transportation partners considering their environmental and social policy and the actions they take to support the Group in its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.
Their ability to create innovative sustainable solutions, such as green energies (biogas, biofuel, or hydrogen) or alternative modes of transport (cargo bikes, train), is an essential selection criterion.
The Group also carries out regular monitoring to identify new opportunities and organises workshops on the decarbonisation of transportation with its partners.
During strategic meetings with its partners, decarbonisation of transport and monitoring of the implementation of the previously defined action plans are routinely discussed. Specific in-depth discussions are organised if necessary.
(tonnes of CO2 equivalent per unit sold)
The transport of products led to 450,460 tonnes of CO2 equivalent being emitted in 2021, which represents 69 g/CO2 per unit sold.
The Group’s carbon footprint linked to the transport of finished products rose by 12% between 2016 and 2021. This change is primarily due to the increase in the use of air transport over the same period because of the growth of the Asian markets and the increase in the Luxury Division flows to this zone.
Between 2020 and 2021, global consolidation of the CO2 emissions related to the transport of finished products shows stable CO2 emissions (-0.4%), a 3.6% decrease in intensity of the Group’s carbon footprint (gCO2/unit sold) over the same period. In 2021, CO2 emissions linked to air transport fell by 7%compared to 2020, with a beneficial carry-over to maritime and rail transport modes, the use and carbon footprint of which increased by 19% and 16%, respectively.
Thanks to the actions put in place by the Supply Chain teams across the five pillars of the Group’s transport decarbonisation strategy, as described above, CO2 emissions per tonne of goods transported and per kilometre traveled decreased by 14% from 2020.