From supermarket shelf to CO₂ balance: Nagel-Group and Shipzero create emissions transparency in food logistics

In cooperation with the emissions data platform Shipzero, Nagel-Group is creating CO₂ transparency in its transport network and taking the first steps towards decarbonizing its supply chain. Shipzero founder Mirko Schedlbauer introduces the collaboration.

In the world of food logistics, transport service providers are faced with a constant balancing act between quality assurance and efficiency optimization. Every day, a large number of perishable goods are transported safely and freshly to their destination. Nagel-Group, one of the leading players in this sector, has dedicated itself to this complex game. With its focus on fresh and frozen food logistics, it serves customers in over 30 countries across Europe, ensuring an uninterrupted cold chain from producer to consumer. “We transport everything you find in the supermarket, in every temperature class,” explains Christian Bleiker, Executive Director Legal & Governance at Nagel-Group, who is responsible for sustainability. “We store, pack, pick, transport and handle our customers’ products. From cheese from the Allgäu region to meat and sausage products, frozen pizza and chocolate.”

Nagel-Group wants to become greener and transparency about its own emissions is a key first step in this direction.

Increasing customer requirements due to CSRD

In the midst of complex transportation conditions, however, a new challenge is in the foreground: transparency about the company’s own emission values and the reduction of its ecological footprint. This is no easy task for Nagel-Group, given the high transport volume, time-critical supply chains and the need to maintain the cold chain. However, the requirements for reliable emissions data are increasing due to the growing reporting obligations such as the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive). Bleiker confirms: “We are receiving more and more inquiries from our customers requesting emissions data on their transports or specifically asking what Nagel-Group is already doing to avoid emissions.” The food logistics company relies on support and has been working closely with the Shipzero emissions data platform since 2021 to record emissions data and provide its customers with emissions reports. Christian Bleiker’s sustainability team was already knowledgeable before the introduction of Shipzero. Bleiker recalls: “We initially decided against a tool and built our own Excel-based solution. After a while, however, we had to recognize that we needed a more professional and automated solution in order to meet increasing customer requirements. We have now been working with Shipzero for over three years and a lot has happened from the initial idea to the current solution. We are gradually expanding our collaboration so that our reporting becomes more and more accurate and better reflects reality.

Data management – cooperation with Shipzero

At the beginning of the collaboration, the challenge was to integrate the large amount of data from the Nagel-Group’s various source systems into the Shipzero data platform. This proved to be particularly challenging, as the transport management system has a decentralized structure. An analysis phase was therefore initially carried out to determine from which systems the data could be transferred and in what quality. It had to be borne in mind that even after a shipment had been completed, further processes could take place that could affect the shipment information and therefore the emissions calculation. To this day, Shipzero performs a granular quality check after each new data transmission to identify possible gaps and inconsistencies. Manual input errors can thus be corrected in good time, which leads to a continuous improvement in the database for calculating emissions.

Closer to reality with primary data

Nagel-Group has ambitious goals, as it plans to reduce its emissions by 40 percent by 2030. This is why further projects are being actively driven forward with the Hamburg-based Shipzero team. Recently, the company’s own fleet was successfully connected to the data platform. This enables emissions to be calculated on the basis of primary consumption data from the telematics system and therefore an even more accurate recording of emission values. Other national companies such as Nagel-Danmark and the green start-up Leafr were also included in the partnership. As a result, all of Nagel-Group’s transport and logistics emissions are now mapped via the Shipzero data platform. The focus on primary consumption data is becoming increasingly important. “The big drivers in calculating emissions in transport are vehicle consumption and capacity utilization. We are making great efforts and optimizations in both areas. For example, our driver and fleet supervisors train our drivers in fuel-efficient driving and are already achieving very good results. However, if you only ever use standardized consumption values to determine emissions, you won’t see any improvements. However, in order to be able to say what was consumed on a specific trip from A to B and therefore what emissions were actually emitted, it is essential to use primary data. Only then can I see the success of our measures. Primary data is therefore the only way to make improvements visible in concrete terms,” says Bleiker. The topic of primary data integration is currently being extended to transport companies. The service providers’ telematics data is gradually being integrated into the data platform. Shipzero acts as a neutral data partner in this process, protecting the data sovereignty of the transport service providers and only providing the Nagel-Group with the emission values for complete emission transparency of transport routes.

Nagel-Group’s measures to decarbonize the supply chain also include the first electric trucks in the fleet.

Concrete steps towards decarbonization

Nagel-Group is not only focusing on transparency with regard to its emission values, but is already taking the first steps towards decarbonizing its supply chain. While calculating emissions with the help of Shipzero lays the foundation, reduction measures are to be identified in future using the platform on the basis of data and their effects made visible. The logistics company started using LNG vehicles early on and is now continuously expanding its activities in the field of electrification. It is also developing projects in partnership with customers, such as the electrification of the shuttle service between a chocolate manufacturer in southern Germany and the Nagel-Group branch in Reichenbach. This initially began as a pilot project with two tractor units to get an initial feel for the technology, charging and general reliability of the “new” vehicle technology. The test was successful and the knowledge gained can now be used to electrify the first scheduled services. The efforts also extend to other areas such as avoiding empty mileage, optimizing cargo space and consumption-optimized driving behavior. Future scenario analyses will also play an important role, with Shipzero providing support with its data expertise. A case is currently being worked on in which a Nagel-Group customer is considering various scenarios when selecting a new warehouse location. In this way, potential emissions in connection with new locations can be predicted well in advance.

The Shipzero data platform dashboard provides an overview of a company’s CO₂ emissions.

Working together towards low-emission food logistics

The cooperation between Nagel-Group and Shipzero paves the way for transparent and sustainable food logistics. The use of Shipzero has already generated many benefits for the logistics company: customer reports are provided quickly and automatically and the emissions calculation complies with applicable standards such as ISO 14083. The network effect should not be underestimated either: “We are finding that more and more of our customers are also looking for an emissions calculation tool. The first customers are already working with Shipzero, which also creates a partnership link in the area of emissions,” emphasizes Bleiker.

The major goal of decarbonization is undoubtedly a huge challenge for logistics companies with complex delivery structures. It requires a rethink of the entire corporate culture and often means a wide range of changes to operational processes. But as the saying goes: every journey begins with the first step, in this case with data collection. Because only those who measure their emissions accurately can identify and implement meaningful reduction measures in the long term and prove their effects.

With a clear focus on transparency and efficiency, Nagel-Group, together with Shipzero and its transport partners, is setting important milestones in food logistics and actively tackling the challenges of measuring and reducing its ecological footprint.

The article “From supermarket shelf to CO₂ balance” was written by Mirko Schedlbauer, founder of Shipzero, and first published online at www.frischelogistik.com on 30.05.2024. Click here for the article!

Brief information about Shipzero

Shipzero is the data platform for effective emissions tracking and reduction in global freight transportation. Shippers, logistics service providers and freight forwarders can use it to manage transportation emissions and pave their way to net zero emissions. The team brings together experts from the fields of data management, logistics and sustainability. Their emissions data platform is constantly growing and already covers over 80 million transports in more than 100 countries.

About the autor

The author Mirko Schedlbauer has been co-founder and Managing Director of Shipzero since 2018. Previously, he worked as a consultant in the fields of data and business intelligence and gained experience in numerous logistics companies and their data landscapes. Already during his master’s degree in sustainability and innovation management, Mirko was committed to climate protection in combination with sustainable business. He is co-founder of the non-profit initiative Global Shapers Hamburg, a sub-organization of the World Economic Forum.