In our latest Flowsmagazine, we feature various sustainability initiatives from the logistics sector. When asked about such initiatives, Jo Van Moer highlights three issues: the intermodal story, efficiency gains and the mindset of all employees.
With a multimodal approach and several inland terminals under its own management, Van Moer Logistics takes many trucks off the road, saving thousands of tonnes of CO2 per year. Yet trucks continue to have their place in the intermodal story too, as they are often needed for first- or last-mile transports and offer more flexibility. Van Moer Logistics has a sustainable solution for that too.
“We have placed an order for eleven hydrogen-powered trucks,” says Jo Van Moer. “These are dual-fuel trucks, which in the best conditions run 80% on hydrogen and 20% on diesel. As an interim solution, I am 200% behind this, because realistically you have to take into account the current infrastructure. There are hardly any filling stations offering hydrogen.”
Efficiency gains
He also strongly believes in efficiency gains, for instance by aligning transports. Specifically, the company combines an import flow from clothing brand H&M with an export flow from beverage giant AB InBev. “Our ships sail full containers of clothing to Brussels, where the final leg is done by truck. The empty containers that have to go back to Antwerp, we load them full of beer so they also come back full. Good planning and economies of scale are the key to success here.”
“We extend that line into our warehouses as well, because efficiency means less impact on the environment anyway,” says Van Moer. “It’s not always the eye-catching investment rings that are needed to make things greener tomorrow. Our job is to look at the different flows in detail and work with that to see where there is even more efficiency to be gained. Digitalisation, better planning, better communication … everything counts.”
Employees
Here, Van Moer refers to the corporate culture and mindset of all employees. “We also train our people well so that they always look for the most sustainable solution.” Van Moer emphasises that his company takes care of its employees, who are crucial to the success of all their operations and making them sustainable.
Van Moer Logistics’ dream is to make the entire chain CO2 neutral. The company is well on its way. “We are proud of what we have already achieved,” says Van Moer. “We received three gold and one silver medals from Ecovadis in 2022 and 2023. Our scores put us among the top 10% of companies in Europe. That is great, because it objectively reflects how well we are doing in terms of sustainability in a challenging and energy-intensive sector.”
