What’s the incentive for adopting green practices? It’s all down to gaining a competitive advantage.
Latest Bifa Report
A recent report by the British International Freight Association (Bifa) and emissions calculation platform Pledge highlights increased competitive advantage as the primary benefit for freight forwarders adopting green practices.
Sustainability Not a Priority
Despite this, many companies have yet to realise these benefits. Bifa policy advisor Mike Jones identified the key issues for forwarders considering sustainability as moral, legal, and commercial.
Boosting Competitive Advantage
From a study of 83 freight forwarders, the most significant benefit reported was "increased competitive advantage," with 40% citing it as a benefit of sustainable practices. Additionally, 36% said it helped win new customers or tenders, and 12% reported losing tenders due to poor sustainability.
Benefits Still Small
Greg Herz from Pledge noted the commercial benefits are still seen as modest, and widespread recognition needs to increase for greater sustainability uptake. And, Mr. Jones observed that many companies have not yet embarked on sustainability initiatives.
“There is a lack of widespread recognition of the positive effects – that will need to increase for sustainability uptake to increase. A lot of companies haven’t started that journey yet”. Mike Jones, Bifa policy advisor
Smaller Businesses Need Support
There is a notable difference in sustainability priorities between large and small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with SMEs facing budget and integration challenges. The report calls for targeted support and incentives to bridge this gap.
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