Transporting Goods — A Key Consideration for Reducing Our CO2 Emissions

In addition to the eco-design initiative that led us to optimize key products like the new NEOX® belay device, Petzl launched another major project to help reduce CO2 emissions: Optimizing shipping logistics, particularly in the Asia-Pacific zone. The project is organized in multiple phases over several years to help us achieve our sustainability goals. We’ve just completed the first phase of the project and are already seeing encouraging results, laying the groundwork to optimize our logistics plan on a global scale.

Mapping Logistical Flows

Flow? Logistics? What do these terms really mean? 

They refer to the entire process of moving goods within Petzl's operations: from supplying raw materials to our factories, to stocking finished products, and shipping those products to our dealers. Since 2020, our logistics teams have been mapping these movements, known as 'flows', by identifying and quantifying all the goods or materials transported for or by Petzl. This involved estimating the volume of shipments and converting them into CO2 emissions, a requirement for calculating our first carbon assessment. The assessment revealed that shipping goods and materials was our second largest source of emissions, accounting for 25% of the companys global carbon footprint, or about 11,000 metric tons of CO2 per year.  

Our first observation: while transporting raw materials to and between our manufacturing sites represents just a small portion of the 11,000 metric tons, transporting goods from our factories to our customers is a different story. To provide the highest quality of customer service, we continue to utilize air shipments for product delivery when necessary. However, this comes at a considerable environmental cost, with air shipments representing more than 80% of the carbon impact of all shipments, while moving less than 17% of the volume.

Our second observation: our analysis quickly revealed that the Asia-Pacific zone presented an opportunity for improvement because our products manufactured in the region were required to pass through our main logistics center in France before being shipped to customers in Asia and the South Pacific. Shipments to and from this region account for 15% of our total shipments, or the equivalent of 1,700 metric tons of CO2. Financially and environmentally, this wasn’t sustainable, making it an immediate priority. 

Creating A More Sustainable Logistics Model

To reduce our environmental impact without negatively affecting our shipment times, we increased our inventory capacity in Asia to stock a larger quantity of products manufactured on-site and ship them directly to our customers in that region. Our customers agreed to temporarily use two separate order forms: one for products coming from Europe (delivered by air or sea) and one for products coming from Asia (delivered exclusively by sea). The change was well-received and significantly reduced each party's carbon footprint, while also improving lead times. We also hired two new employees at our site in Asia to help facilitate this new initiative.

Optimizing the flow of goods has allowed us to reduce our CO2 emissions by 20%. However, if we were to opt exclusively for ocean shipments, this reduction could reach 93%. The next major challenge is engaging our customers in this initiative and researching mutually beneficial solutions for reducing air shipments.

Project Manager, Gilles Puleio, reflects on Petzl's willingness to be a leader with these initiatives: "While the constraints of the carbon tax would have probably led us to take action in the coming years, the real catalyst for Petzl was completing our carbon assessment in 2020 and setting ambitious goals to reduce carbon emissions. We're proud to have launched this proactive initiative on our own volition, without waiting for regulations to force us to do so."

Making Manufacturing, Stock, and Shipping More Local

Two more phases remain in the plan. In the months and years to come, we intend to build on this momentum to further reduce the environmental impact of our shipping operations by enabling European-made products to be stored in Asia, which would allow our customers in this region to buy “locally” via a single point of supply for all Petzl products. Additionally, we plan to develop manufacturing capacities within each site across each major geographical area (Americas, Asia, Northern Europe, Southern Europe) to enable local production and shipping.

The impact of shipping is examined for each product via our Life Cycle Analysis.