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Online Systemlogistik introduces “Green Cargo”

4. July 2023

The general cargo cooperation Online Systemlogistik (OSL) has introduced a new product: Online Green Cargo. For every Green Cargo shipment transported, 50 cents goes to a climate project to reduce CO2. In addition, the maximum delivery time of 72 hours is designed to ensure that utilisation and stop density are particularly high and thus environmentally friendly.

Just six months after the start of the pilot phase at the beginning of 2023, green cargo shipments already accounted for around 12 percent of the total shipment volume, and 83 of the current 96 OSL partners have already booked the product. “Environmental protection and the reduction of CO2 emissions are very important to us. At the same time, we want to give our partners and their customers the choice of whether and when to book the climate-friendly product,” explains OSL Director Petra Welling. “With the Green Cargo option, they can determine for which shipments delivery within 72 hours is adequate. Thanks to this large time window, shipments can be bundled even more efficiently for higher capacity utilisation and lower CO2 emissions.”

Reduce emissions, save costs

The longer delivery time benefits the environment and the economy in equal measure. This is because, in order to meet deadlines for urgent shipments, more vehicles need to be on the road. In fact, however, many shipments are not time-sensitive. This new option enables flexible and particularly economical scheduling, which according to Petra Welling definitely has a future: “How many shipments really need to be with the consignee the next day? For companies and consumers, ‘same day’ or ‘next day’ deliveries are the set standard. A change in thinking here would already be a big step toward sustainable logistics.”

OSL is going even further: 50 cents from every Green Cargo shipment is donated to a climate protection project. In order to finance this, the same price applies for the green product with the 72-hour delivery time as for OSL’s standard “Speed Cargo” product with a 24-48 hour delivery time. At the end of the year, the partners decide whether with their contributions to support a regional environmental project or whether to donate the money to the initiative selected by OSL; the responsible committees are currently still deciding on this matter.

From measurement to action

In 2014, Online Systemlogistik became the first general cargo cooperation to be certified by DEKRA according to the EN 16258 standard. The standard is used for the uniform calculation of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions for a standardised CO2 balance. During the annual recertifications, the OSL quality management team checks whether the partners’ values are within the tolerance range. Deviations are analysed in detail and countermeasures taken if necessary. For the partner audits, OSL also consults the environmental assessments; since 2002, OSL has been continuously certified according to the environmental management system standard ISO 14001. “We take the processes defined in ISO 14001 for achieving environmental goals very seriously,” says OSL Quality and Environmental Management Officer Marcella Rennecke. “With the new Green Cargo product, we are now creating an easily measurable metric in terms of climate protection and CO2 reduction.”