The logistics industry’s impact on climate change was the main focus of dialogue this week at visibility provider project44’s companywide town hall, which included a chat between project44 President and COO Vivek Kundra and former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.
“Visibility into every a part of the availability chain is a critical step in measuring and reducing climate footprints,” said Gore, co-founder and chairman of Generation Investment Management, a sustainable management firm that co-led project44’s $80 million funding round with A.P. Moller Holding in November.
The previous vp began his remarks Tuesday by addressing his deep roots throughout the industry, commemorating his father’s work as a U.S. senator from Tennessee who championed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. It became considered one of the biggest public works projects in U.S. history on the time, granting $25 billion to construct over 41,000 miles of the Interstate Highway System.
“I remember the day his subcommittee voted to make the signs green on the interstate,” said Gore. “Now each time I see considered one of those ubiquitous green signs on our interstate highway system, I take into consideration that vote.”
Emissions measurement
Gore spoke of his investment in project44, noting global corporations specializing in reducing their global footprint.
“Large corporations have been making ambitious guarantees to cut back their climate impact and at the top of last 12 months, greater than 4,000 corporations, covering over a 3rd of the worldwide economy’s market cap, were setting science-based climate targets,” he explained to the group of project44 executives and staff.
Yet, he believes that even with these great intentions, these corporations wouldn’t have the tools to accurately measure their supply chain’s emissions.
“You can’t manage what you can not and don’t measure. … In other words, visibility into every a part of the availability chain is a critical step in measuring and reducing your climate footprint. Project44 helps its customers with that crucial first step so that they can construct a more sustainable and resilient supply chain,” Gore said.
Government policy
Although it is vital to have corporations agree that emissions must be reduced, Gore seemed optimistic about global governance admitting to the necessity for emissions regulations.
“Last August, america passed the largest and best climate laws that any nation has ever passed in all of history,” said Gore. “There are a number of things in it that I didn’t like, but for each ton of increased emissions, the experts predict from this bill, there are 28 tons of decreased emissions, and in a representative democracy where compromise is vital to do big things, that’s a fairly good ratio of compromise.”
He went on to elucidate that a month after that laws, the Inflation Reduction Act, passed, Australia voted in climate-friendly representatives who went on to pass similar laws, followed by Brazil voting out its climate-denier government and voting in President Lula da Silva, who pledged to guard the Amazon.
But with all of that positive momentum, the climate change crisis continues to worsen.
“We’ve got all of the solutions available to us that may cut emissions in half inside this decade and we still have a shot at doing that. But we’re still putting 162 million tons of artificial global warming pollution each day into that little thin blue shell surrounding the planet. Each molecule lingers there on average for about 100 years and it traps as much extra heat now as could be released by 600,000 Hiroshima-class atomic bombs exploding day-after-day. That’s the reason we’re getting all of those crazy weather events and so they are as a consequence of worsen.”
As shocking as those statistics are, Gore wrapped up his comments with a positive outlook based on the participation of supply chain managers across the globe.
“Once we get to a real net zero, the temperatures on Earth will stop going up. … It really is nearly like we have now a metaphorical switch we will throw and if we stay at a real net zero, half of all of the man-made CO2 will fall out of the atmosphere in as little as 25 years. So we will do that and for many who doubt that we have now the political will to follow through and really do it, keep in mind that political will is itself a renewable resource.”
Watch now: Project 44 and Lineage Logistics partner for a greener future
Read more
Project44 cuts workforce, warns of fixing FreightTech investor sentiment
Real-time visibility: Recent 12 months, same lean strategy
Ocean visibility provider project44 offers Flex solution for small shippers
Way forward for Supply Chain
JUNE 21-22, 2023 • CLEVELAND, OH • IN-PERSON EVENT
The best minds within the transportation, logistics and provide chain industries will share insights, predict future trends and showcase emerging technology the FreightWaves way–with engaging discussions, rapid-fire demos, interactive sponsor kiosks and more.