What moved in logistics decarbonisation this week
Logistics Decarbonisation
How Royal Mail will use AI to calculate supplier emissions
Royal Mail is testing an AI agent that estimates the Scope 3 carbon impact and carbon intensity of new supplier contracts at the point of procurement, flagging deals that breach screening thresholds. The workflow was cut from eight steps and 23 input fields to five phases and as few as eight fields.
Einride to add 500 Tesla Semis to fleet
Einride will deploy 500 Tesla Semis over two years from September, tripling its fleet across California, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey and Texas. It follows WattEV’s 370-unit order and Walmart Canada’s 130, with the case made on cost per mile rather than emissions alone.
San Pedro ports seek zero-emission truck usage boost via new incentive programme
Los Angeles and Long Beach have proposed a three-year incentive programme paying qualifying zero-emission trucks USD 60 per terminal visit and up to USD 36,000 per vehicle annually, with a public hearing on 29 September and comments open to 2 November. The complex targets zero-emission drayage by 2035.
Cold Chain & Reefer
Constellation Cold Logistics achieves SBTi validation for near-term and net-zero targets
Constellation Cold Logistics says it is the first cold chain logistics company globally to have both near-term (2035) and net-zero (2050) targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. It uses ammonia as its network refrigerant and added rooftop solar at Dublin and Tønsberg this summer, reaching 17 solar-equipped sites.
Tesco selects R454A refrigerated trailer units
Carrier Transicold has delivered five multi-temperature trailer units to Tesco charged with R454A at GWP 239, replacing R452A at GWP 2,140 — roughly an 89% cut in refrigerant global warming potential. The trailers carry leak-detection sensors and automatic pump-down recovery.
Trane trial proves autonomous container performance
German field trials of a grid-independent, solar-powered 20ft refrigerated container held a −18°C setpoint for more than seven days with no grid connection, under mostly cloudy skies at ambients of 20–30°C. The 35kWh backup battery stayed close to fully charged throughout.
Carbon Accounting & Regulation
EU Parliament votes to expand product list, close loopholes in CBAM carbon import tax
MEPs adopted a negotiating position by 464 votes to 50 to extend CBAM to more than 450 additional downstream products — beyond the Commission’s proposed 180 — covering machinery, vehicle components, solar panels and heat pumps, plus anti-circumvention rules. Trilogue talks with Council follow.
CARB releases first-year GHG reporting guidance and voluntary submission platform
On 1 September CARB published guidance and a voluntary intake platform ahead of the 10 November 2026 SB 253 deadline, covering US companies with over USD 1bn revenue doing business in California. First-year enforcement discretion allows filing on data already held in December 2024; Scope 3 reporting begins in 2027.
IMO Net-Zero Framework holds ground after latest round of climate talks
Four days of technical talks in London closed with the framework largely intact: 38 countries that spoke backed retaining carbon pricing and the revenue mechanism, against 17 opposed. The mechanism is expected to raise USD 10–15bn a year, with adoption expected at an extraordinary MEPC meeting on 4 December.
Sustainable Shipping & Freight
Shipping’s fuel transition hinges on a number nobody has agreed on yet
A joint GCMD–BCG study finds that at the USD 380 per tonne CO2e currently on the table, fuel oil with onboard carbon capture stays the cheapest compliant option; only near USD 700 per tonne does the balance tip to methanol, ammonia and ethanol. EU ETS and FuelEU cover only about a fifth of international shipping’s energy use.
UK ports warn grid delays and energy costs threaten maritime decarbonisation
A UK Department for Transport summary reports ports on a median 5.5 MW grid connection expecting to need an average of about 91 MW, with connection lead times reaching 15 years. Of 26 respondents, 69% said insufficient electricity supply had already cost them or their customers opportunities.
FedEx ramps up SAF procurement for use at five US airports
FedEx has secured more than 20 million gallons of neat sustainable aviation fuel through to end-2027 across Newark, Oakland, Miami, JFK and Dallas Fort Worth, at blend ratios of 30–50%. That is up from roughly 5 million gallons secured since last year, against a 2030 target of 30% alternative jet fuel.