CO2 compensation: Elvis loading network drives climate neutral

Recently, the European Cargo Network of International Freight Forwarders AG (Elvis) and the Elvis Partial Load System have been neutralizing their CO2 balance. Since the end of 2019, the companies have been compensating for all their carbon dioxide emissions according to the money standard. Through investments in climate protection projects, they offset nearly 800 tons of greenhouse gases last year, according to their own statements. They are now committing to also compensate for all system transports commissioned by Elvis itself from now on.

“Sustainability is undoubtedly one of the most important issues of our time. And even if politics is still divided on how specifically to respond to the climate crisis, one thing is clear: there can be no ‘business as usual,’” says Elvis board member Nikolja Grabowski. “So, it doesn't take a prophet to foresee that any environmental damage will be priced higher in the future. Therefore, we also consider it advisable from a business perspective to act voluntarily today.”

Against this backdrop, the logistics network from Alzenau and the partial load system based in Knüllwald decided back in 2019 to compensate for their CO2 emissions. In implementing this, Elvis relied on the expertise of the climate protection agency Climate Extender from Gehrden in Lower Saxony. As part of a multi-stage process, the agency first created current climate balances for both companies and then examined where emissions could be reduced through technical and/or organizational measures. Subsequently, the level of compensation was calculated based on international standards. All unavoidable emissions resulting from everyday business activities were taken into account, from employee commutes to the operation of the logistics hub in Knüllwald.

The consortium is now offsetting this by investing in recognized environmental protection certificates to a corresponding extent. These, in turn, finance climate protection projects in emerging and developing countries that demonstrably bind carbon dioxide or avoid further emissions, thus reducing the environmental impact. In this way, Elvis offset almost 800 tons of CO2 last year, which corresponds roughly to the emissions caused by 1,000 fully loaded trucks traveling from Frankfurt to Hamburg.

But the consortium does not want to stop there. In addition to the administration in Alzenau and the operation of the hub in Knüllwald, the system traffics commissioned by Elvis itself will also be offset step by step from now on. "Since there is still no technology for CO2-free transport, offsetting emissions is the only viable option for us at the moment," says Grabowski.

"We are convinced that the aspect of sustainability is essential for the future viability of a company. However, small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly in our industry, often lack the resources to give the topic the necessary attention," says Grabowski.

Therefore, the consortium has now taken on this task for its partners. Recently, the affiliated freight forwarders and carriers have been able to offset individual transports easily and conveniently directly through Elvis.