Sustainability as an opportunity
As an experienced family business, sustainability is part of our DNA – it’s in our nature to plan and act both with and on behalf of the generations. Joining swisscleantech is the logical consequence of an approach to sustainability that we’ve always translated into our everyday transport and warehouse logistics operations. For us, innovative climate action is not just a necessity, but above all a unique business opportunity. Going forward, with this in mind, all of our related campaigns and activities will come under the heading ‘Plan P’ – with the ‘P’ standing for Planet, Perspective and People. Planzer’s plan for our planet. This activity plan is currently being fleshed out on different strategic and operational levels, and will be launched before summer 2022. Here’s an overview of the key elements.
Using the rail network as the main mode of transport in multimodal logistics
Trucks still generally symbolise the transport business. But times have changed. That’s why we’re consciously focusing on multimodal logistics chains. At the centre of this approach is the rail network as the main, future-proof mode of transport for high efficiency in freight. Swiss rail freight transport offers an environmentally and economically viable alternative to the roads. We see the Swiss railway infrastructure as one of Switzerland’s great assets as a business location. This is why we’re helping to make it even more market- and climate-compatible, with new innovations, technologies and business models. It’s also the reason why we acquired a minority stake in SBB Cargo (find out more here).
We operate 13 of our own rail centres in Swiss cities, with direct connections to the Swiss road network. We already send 60% of our shipments by rail, and are working on increasing this further. Through the city logistics concept, we complement the strengths of rail system as a mode of transport on the last mile and in cities by using state-of-the-art vehicles, both with and without alternative drive technologies.
Optimising resources in warehouse logistics
Our warehouse logistics services require a great deal of energy resources: electricity for lighting our warehouse spaces and for value-added services such as picking and packaging, heating oil and natural gas for heating the buildings, and energy for the disposal of recyclable materials. In view of this, we’re focusing on optimising resource consumption and allocation in our warehouse logistics. In 2020, our carbon footprint in warehouse logistics amounted to 14,548 tonnes, or 8 grams of CO2 per kilogram of goods processed. This corresponds on average to a highly encouraging reduction of 4% CO2 per processed kilogram compared to the previous year. We’ll be continuing this trend by providing our warehouse staff with regular and specific precision training, further streamlining processes and using innovative technologies. The more targeted and resource-efficient our approach to managing warehouse orders, the more we can reduce our CO2 equivalent in this area of business. We also systematically pursue multi-user warehousing in warehouse logistics. This involves combining deliveries from several shippers to one and the same recipient in our cross-docking warehouses, thereby reducing the number of journeys and the overall CO2 emissions generated.
Increasing the energy efficiency of our buildings
Renewable energy sources and clean energy technologies are core aspects of UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 7, ‘Access to affordable and clean energy’. This goal calls for a far-sighted planning approach, as many technical innovations are not yet feasible or affordable on a large scale. All the more reason for us to strive to improve the energy efficiency of our buildings and implement the necessary innovations – both in the buildings themselves and in terms of our behaviour. We currently run many photovoltaic systems, and existing gas and oil heating systems are not replaced. We’re continuously connecting new buildings to district heating networks supplied with renewable energies. When it comes to increasing the energy efficiency of our building envelopes, we’re replacing inefficient windows, façades and technical equipment as soon as is appropriate. In terms of energy consumption, we’re focusing on raising staff awareness and employee expertise. Our technical managers receive ongoing training on using control technology to minimise the energy consumption of heating, cooling and ventilation systems. We service and maintain equipment and installations wherever possible and meaningful, instead of replacing them with new ones at the first opportunity. Naturally, we’re replacing all old lighting with modern LED lamps on an ongoing basis. The room temperatures in our offices are kept at 21 °C in winter.
Introducing mobility pricing
Mobility is an environmental good, as freedom of movement correlates with the environmental footprint of private individuals and companies. After all, anything that costs nothing is wasted, so mobility pricing puts a price on this freedom of movement. ‘For me, mobility pricing is the future,’ says CEO Nils Planzer. Mobility pricing can help to ease bottlenecks on the roads and railways at rush hour, and ensure more efficient use of transport infrastructure. If private individuals switch to public transport because individual mobility becomes more expensive, this causes a drop in CO2 emissions on the roads. In our view, mobility pricing is an important and appropriate step towards cost transparency. The concept is in line with principle number five of the swisscleantech Charter, which calls for ‘cost transparency for environmental goods’. This is the only way to ensure the successful provision of products and services that bear all the costs they generate over their life cycle.
Promoting new drive technologies
For last-mile distribution in cities and urban areas, we’re focusing on rolling out our electric trucks and delivery vans. Our first e-truck set off on its maiden voyage five years ago, and 12 more are being added in 2022. As a drive technology to power vehicles, electricity is 100% emission-free, quiet and protects the environment and society. Our investment in low-emission vehicles goes beyond heavy goods transport to include electric cars, e-cargo bikes and even two horse-drawn carriages in Zermatt. When it comes to ensuring that electricity is not only used but also produced sustainably, it must be obtained from regional producers, embedded in an appropriate legal framework and supplied via a sustainable charging infrastructure. We believe that there is still a lot to be done politically in these areas. We’re actively involved in the research and further development of alternative drive technologies, such as by investing in the development of self-driving delivery vehicles for city logistics in 2021. While we’re also optimistic about the field of synthetic and organic fuels, most existing solutions have not yet been comprehensively scaled and are thus not yet marketable.
Pursuing circular economy strategies
We’re implementing the circular principle of upcycling through our cooperation with swisscleantech member Freitag, which recycles discarded truck tarpaulins into bags and lifestyle items to give new life to the old material. Also following the logic of the circular economy, we’ve made our battery-defective ‘E-Force’ e-trucks available to the Swiss Technical College Winterthur (STFW) for training and educational purposes. This enables us to help future generations to become familiar with alternative techniques and technologies during their education.
Pooling resources and enhancing strengths
Our cooperation with swisscleantech is by no means new. We’ve been working with the trade association since 2020, which saw the launch of the project entitled ‘Space- and energy-efficient logistics locations for supply and disposal in urban areas’ by the coordination office for sustainable mobility KOMO. swisscleantech and Planzer share the same understanding of sustainability and a commitment to active involvement well beyond the limits of our company. By joining swisscleantech, we aim to deepen this partnership and add a further dimension to our ‘Plan P’.