Transportation Sustainability: It Is Your Father's Oldsmobile

OK, it’s not exactly your father’s Oldsmobile, but we have recently discovered that companies with transportation sustainability initiatives are using many of the same old tools to gauge their success.

The Supply Chain Consortium’s new Transportation Sustainability Report found that a number of companies are using ROI or cost-payback analysis and life-cycle assessment – which are commonly used to measure capital expenditures – to evaluate their environmental initiatives. See more about the report.

These tried-and-true methodologies are not nearly as cutting-edge as some of the initiatives they’re measuring, so therefore they tend to be a very conservative predictor of success. Encompassing the total cost savings of a long-term sustainability initiative can be quite challenging. Consider using some new tools and keep the Oldsmobile in the garage.

Other green business tools used by companies we surveyed include environmental reporting and certification programs, environmental management systems, eco-mapping, and environmental accounting.

Overall, having sustainability initiatives within your organization is a powerful offensive strategy, whether you are measuring cost benefits, environmental benefits, or company benefits.

For more information on what other companies are doing and how you can improve your transportation sustainability initiative, check out the Transportation Sustainability Report

You can also listen to a recent podcast


Jim
Tompkins Associates