SUMMARY:
- How are your delivery emissions calculated? - direct access
- General tip - direct access
- You know the distance of each journey but not the weight of each journey - direct access
- You know the weight of each journey but don't know the distance of each journey - direct access
- Mistakes to avoid - direct access
- Why can't we just add them up? - direct access
How are your delivery emissions calculated?
To calculate your delivery emissions, we use the tonne-kilometre method.
It is a unit of measurement used to assess the impact of goods transport. The tonne-kilometre is calculated based on two factors:
- the weight of the goods transported, in tonnes
- the distance travelled by these goods, in kilometres
When calculating carbon footprints, we multiply this tonne-kilometre by a third factor: the means of transport used (e.g. lorry, ship, aeroplane).
To do this, we use an emission factor for each means of transport, which takes into account the type of vehicle and the fuel used.
Let's take a numerical example (if you don't mind). If 2 tonnes of goods are transported by train over 50 km, the CO₂ emitted is calculated as follows:
2 x 50 x 0.002 (emission factor for high-speed trains) = 0.2 kg CO₂ emitted
General tip
For the following two scenarios, where you are missing some data, the same trick can be used.
When you do not have all the details, using averages can simplify data collection while maintaining a certain level of accuracy.
You know the distance of each journey but not the weight of each journey
If you know the distance of each journey but do not know the weight of each journey, you must:
- Estimate the average weight transported on a ‘typical’ journey,
- Calculate the total kilometres travelled on all journeys made during the reporting period.
💡 If you have several means of transport, you must do this for all of them, as the emission factors used are different.
You know the weight of each journey but don't know the distance of each journey
If you know the weight of each journey but do not know the distance of each journey, you must:
- Estimate the average distance travelled during a journey,
- Calculate the total weights transported over all journeys made during the reporting period.
💡 If you have several means of transport, you must do this for all of them, as the emission factors used are different.
Mistakes to avoid
If you have a list of deliveries with details of the distances and weights involved, you cannot add up the distances, add up the weights, and then multiply the totals to calculate the tonne-kilometre.
This method would assume that each tonne was transported over the entire total distance, which would cause the total to skyrocket!
Why can't we just add them up?
If 1 tonne of goods A travels a distance of 100 km and 2 tonnes of goods B travel 50 km, you cannot add the weight of A and the weight of B (1+2=3 tonnes) and the distance of A and B (100+50=150 km).
1 tonne travelling 100 km = 100 t.km
2 tonnes travelling 50 km = 100 t.km
In this case, the total in t.km is 200 t.km. ✅
If you had added up all the weights and distances for journeys A and B, you would have had: 3 tonnes travelling 150 km = 450 t.km ❌
You now have everything you need to get started. The ‘Supplier deliveries’ and ‘Customer deliveries’ tabs are waiting for you.