Transportation sustainability and environmental justice

Transportation sustainability

Within the United States, transportation accounts for 28% of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Among these, approximately 42% come from freight shipments within the transportation sector. Specifically, trucking, or motor freight, contributes 23% of the GHG emissions produced by freight transport.

Federal policy instructs agencies to reduce GHG emissions to net-zero by the year 2050, according to Executive Order 14057. To meet that goal, agencies need to start assessing and monitoring the GHG emissions generated by their transportation program to ensure alignment with federal sustainability requirements.

Why should you improve the sustainability of your transportation program?

Improving the sustainability of your transportation program carries great significance for several compelling reasons:

Environmental Impact: Elevating sustainability mitigates your carbon footprint, slashes greenhouse gas emissions, and curbs air pollution. This important effort directly promotes a cleaner and healthier environment for your community and beyond.
Cost Efficiency: A sustainable transportation framework does not just benefit the environment; it is a win for your agency’s financial well-being. By reducing resource consumption and optimizing operations, it saves taxpayer dollars, making it an important financially responsible choice.
Equity and Social Impact: Prioritizing sustainability in transportation fosters social justice by ensuring that cleaner air is not a luxury limited to specific communities. It ensures that all communities share in the significant benefits of a healthier environment, promoting equity and fairness for all.
Operational Efficiency: Sustainability is not just about the planet; it is about streamlining operations. A sustainable program can significantly enhance program efficiency and potentially expedite shipping, leading to improved performance.
Cargo Safety and Security: Using the right packaging methods as part of a sustainable transportation program not only reduces environmental impact but also minimizes the risk of cargo damage. This dual benefit ensures the safety and security of your transported goods while aligning with environmentally conscious practices.

Basically, prioritizing sustainability in transportation is not merely a choice; it is an investment in a cleaner, more equitable future that positively impacts both the environment and your operations.

Chart showing comparison of greenhouse gas emissions between four modes of transport

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Emissions generated by each mode when shipping one ton of freight. The emissions generated by shipping one ton of cargo per mile on an airplane is 47 times greater than if the one ton of cargo were to be shipped one mile on a cargo container ship.

How can you accomplish this?

First you should track, measure, and evaluate the emissions generated by your third-party transportation service providers (TSPs). Most of your transportation program emissions are created by TSPs and are classified as “Scope 3” emissions. Your agency is not the direct source of these emissions; however, it has indirect responsibility since the TSP generates emissions because of your shipments.

The Environmental Protection Agency explains how to establish a Scope 3 Emissions Inventory that includes your agency’s transportation emissions.

Next, examine the role of your transportation program in the supply chain. A supply chain includes all the activities needed to get a finished product or service to the end user.

You should consider all components within your supply chain such as packaging, palletizing, warehousing, distribution, and transportation. In some instances, you are required to procure environmentally friendly packaging and shipping materials. There are also voluntary programs that will help improve your supply chain efficiency while helping the environment.

How can I improve the sustainability of my transportation program?

Focus on the supply chain components you can improve. Work to improve the sustainability of all types of shipments including freight, household goods, and small parcels.

Packaging

Use the Green Procurement Compilation to identify sustainable purchasing requirements per the Federal Regulations (FAR 23.1 Sustainable Acquisition Policy). The GPC can help you find:

Required shipping supplies such as pallets, packing materials, and cardboard boxes through the USDA BioPreferred® Program and Comprehensive Procurement Guideline
Additional sustainable shipping products used within your program

Shipping

Choose a SmartWay® partner to help establish an inventory of your transportation emissions and to set and reach your sustainability shipping goals.

If you use the GSA Transportation Management Service Solution, select one of the SmartWay® registered TSPs that are designated by a green leaf icon.

What else can you do to improve the sustainability of your transportation program?

Use best practices to start improving the sustainability of your transportation program. Keep in mind that to achieve better outcomes you may need to regularly evaluate and refine the practices.

Add sustainability requirements to your agency transportation program policies.
Prioritize cleaner modes and vehicles and select TSPs that use alternative fuels such as biofuels or are battery powered.
Have your agency become a SmartWay® shipper partner and select SmartWay® carriers in your transportation procurements.
Limit truck idling at your facility.
Maximize the use of trailers and ship less-than-truckload or use a small parcel carrier if your cargo meets the requirements and doesn’t fill a trailer.
Emphasize the use of ground transportation over air.
Use intermodal shipping when it is practical. Intermodal shipping:
1. Can minimize overall fuel consumption, reduce emissions, and lower the costs of freight delivery.
2. Requires shipments to remain in the same standard size containers for the entire journey. This makes it easy to transfer between modes and lowers the risk of damage.
Use greener packaging (such as recycled boxes or reusable pallets) and package shipments correctly.
1. Use the correct size box to protect your shipment without excess fillers.
2. Reduce packaging and reuse and recycle where possible.
Improve efficiencies in your transportation program such as using low- or zero-emission electric forklifts to load trailers and renewable energy where possible in your warehouse, shipping, and delivery operations.

Match your cargo to the appropriate mode. Use the table below as a general guideline to help select a mode of transportation that matches your shipment.

What to consider when matching a mode of transportation to your cargo
Mode of transport	Advantages	Disadvantages
Pipeline	Is efficient for certain commodities Requires smaller amounts of energy to operate (compared to other modes)	Is limited to liquid or gas cargo Has risk of leakage Has limited infrastructure
Water (ocean)	Is usually the cheapest way to ship Is the best transport for bulky shipments Can transport large quantities of containers Has the best emissions	Requires long transit times Is limited to water ports
Rail	Can transport multiple commodities on one train Is fastest for long haul of large shipments Is suitable for large quantities	Has limited infrastructure Has risk and safety issues
Motor (truck)	Requires less handling, generally Is the simplest way to transport goods Is the most economical for short distances Is almost unlimited in where they can go on land	Is not as environmentally responsible as other modes Creates noise pollution on the roads Is not cost-effective over long distances
Air	Is the fastest mode	Requires truck transport for pickup and delivery Is expensive Has high emissions Is subject to weight and size restrictions

Documents for download

For additional information or to read the executive order, implementing instructions, and relevant historical information download these documents:

Environmental justice

Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

What does this mean?

It means you have a duty to protect the environmental and public health in vulnerable communities. Agencies must incorporate environmental justice into transportation policies, programs, and activities

Use disadvantaged transportation providers

Typically, environmental justice in transportation focuses on transportation infrastructure and the issues it creates for disadvantaged communities. Although you may not have control over transportation infrastructure such as roads, ports, and freight yards, you can have a positive impact by using socioeconomically disadvantaged transportation service providers.

Environmental justice and sustainability are closely related. To make sure your program meets your agency’s environmental justice goals, in addition to following the above sustainability requirements and best practices, select TSPs that are identified as economically disadvantaged such as: small businesses, SBA-certified small, disadvantaged businesses, or minority owned firms.

These TSPs are easily identifiable if you use the GSA Freight Management Program. See our environmental justice webpage for more information.