Shell has partnered with the non-profit Smart Freight Centre to sponsor the delivery of the company’s Smart Transport Manager Training.

The training program, initially available online, will educate fleet managers on how best to reduce carbon emissions, increase efficiencies and cut costs throughout their entire supply chain. To date, fleet managers that have implemented some of the measures have reported a 5% to 20% fuel efficiency improvement and reduced fleet operating costs, the companies say.

The program has been put together by industry experts and covers five modules over a four-hour online course. Modules educate fleet managers on the latest methodologies and technologies offered to transport fleets, providing them with the theoretical knowledge needed, as well as an individualized Smart Action Plan to help put these ideas into practice.

“The support of Shell Lubricants for our Smart Transport Manager Training allows us to reach an even bigger market and help to reduce GHG emissions in the road freight industry. This is vital because road freight contributes to 62% of logistics GHG emissions,” said Bonne Goedhart, business development manager at Smart Freight Centre. “We need to act now. For Smart Freight Centre, it is important that all players in the global freight sector work together towards zero emissions by 2050.”

Commercial road freight’s share of total international trade-related emissions is projected to grow from 53% in 2010 to 56% by 2050, the companies say. To reduce this, in line with international climate agreements and Shell’s own effort to become a net-zero energy supplier by 2050, Shell says more must be done to encourage industry partners and clients to enact more effective sustainability measures. Through a range of related topics—from fuel and lubricant choice to performance monitoring—STMT aims to accelerate knowledge sharing and technology dissemination, helping to achieve Smart Freight Centre’s goal of reducing the carbon emissions of multinationals and logistics specialists across the globe.

Online modules will cover:

• Fuels and lubricants: How fuel and lubricants choice can influence emissions and costs.
• Drivers: How fleets and drivers can change their behavior to radically reduce emissions, fuel costs and even maintenance requirements.
• Vehicles: How fleets can maximize utilization and minimize emissions by choosing exactly the right vehicle type for the task at hand.
• Performance monitoring: How fleets can accurately measure and track their emissions using the right tools and a robust and consistent methodology.
• Information technology: How fleets can reduce their environmental impact and overheads using telematics, onboard monitoring and other technologies.