It’s no secret that sustainability is going to be one of the biggest challenges facing the transport industry in the coming years.
With the Australian government setting a target of transitioning to net zero emissions by 2050, we’ve got our work cut out for us.
For a number of reasons – from geography to lack of infrastructure to cost – Australia is still lagging behind Europe and the United States when it comes to reducing transport’s carbon footprint.
Big Rigs recently caught up with Shannon Kyle, Transport Solution Specialist at software company Teletrac Navman, for his thoughts on the subject – and how telematics can help.
“Teletrac Navman has done a great global survey this year – it’s called TS24 – and I’ve found it interesting comparing the data from the UK and the United States with Australia,” he said.
“It looks at trends and what people are spending money on, and the spend in the UK and the US has certainly been more around that sustainability goal.
“When people are asked when they expect it to really bite, they are saying the next two years in the UK – whereas in Australia and New Zealand, they are saying five years – pushing it and pushing it down the line. But it is coming.”
Kyle said that in the future, Australian transport companies will have to measure and report on their carbon emissions.
“I think customers will eventually ask, ‘How much carbon is associated with that box on my shelf?’” he said.
“You’re going to have to track that linehaul load and the carbon component of that, the heavy rigid that took it to the local distributor, and then that last mile truck, and add up all of the carbon.
“That’s what major companies and corporations will want to see, to meet their commitments.”
Kyle admits that reducing CO2 emissions will be a challenge for the industry, but the first step is measuring the data – and the tools are already at our fingertips.
“NatRoad has done a great job with its Get Fleet Fit program, which sets out the key steps transport companies can follow to improve their efficiency, reduce their emissions, and keep up with customer expectations,” he said.
“That’s what I’ve been reiterating to the industry. You’ve already got a lot of the data that can help tell that story, it’s just a matter of starting to do it.”
Teletrac Navman has developed a new Sustainability Dashboard as part of the Insights section of its platform, which uses a combination of predictive analytics, emissions reporting and expert guidance to help operators meet their sustainability goals.
“The dashboard is particularly useful for fleets that are starting to move down that EV transition journey,” Kyle continued. “It helps set a benchmark and shows whether you are improving or not.”
Another new product Teletrac Navman has released is an Electric Vehicle Evaluator, a predictive analytics platform that uses telematics data to build an electric vehicle transition plan that supports customers’ sustainability goals.
He said the tool is popular in the UK – where congestion taxes in London are starting to hit hard – and government organisations in Australia have already shown interest.
“It looks at the duty cycles your current vehicles do and if those vehicles were replaced with an EV, what charging infrastructure would you need?” explained Kyle. “Will it go over the base load limits for your site?
“It looks at all that gives you basically a feasibility on each vehicle and what type of EV, what battery pack, etc.
“Tools like these use data to allow operators to plan and not over-expend on infrastructure or vehicles – so you can make decisions going forward.”
For more information visit teletracnavman.com.au.