In this article, you'll discover what's expected of a haulier and the calculation method used to obtain a transport carbon footprint (ISO 14083 standard).
What are the laws / legal obligations regarding carbon footprint calculation as a haulier?
What laws govern the calculation of Co2 emissions in the transport sector?
That's what you'll find out in this article.
Why do I need to know the carbon footprint of my transports?
Since 2015, as a transporter, you've been legally obliged to provide your customers with information on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from their orders. The law only applies to transport operations, rental is not a transport operation and therefore not impacted.
Article L1431-3 of the French Transport Code
"Any person who markets or organizes a transport service for people, goods or removals must provide the beneficiary of the service with information on the quantity of greenhouse gases emitted by the mode(s) of transport used to carry out this service."
On January 1, 2025, you will be obliged to indicate the Co2 emissions of your transport services at the bottom of your invoice.
Dashdoc is ahead of the game, and you can already retrieve the carbon footprint of each of your transport services (own or chartered) and share the information with your customers from :
🧑💻 The guest portal
📊 Data export
🧾 Your invoices (at the foot of your invoices if you use Dashdoc Facturation)
🇫🇷 ADEME's EVE platform
Co2 emissions in road transport: which calculation method to use?
In the past, there were a selveral ways of calculating Co2 emissions. Today, however, the European Union states have aligned themselves and there is only one calculation method that is authoritative for calculating the carbon footprint: the ISO 14083 calculation method.
What is the ISO 14083 standard?
The ISO 14083 standard is an official methodology that sets out how to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions from a company's logistics or transport operations.
Both freight and passenger transport are considered.
💡 "ISO" simply refers to the acronym "International Organization for Standardization".
In fact, there is a whole series of ISO standards which lay down rules for company management. In this case, the fact that the standard is associated with the number 14000 automatically confers on it the label of environmental management.
The standard was registered for design in 2019, its public inquiry closed in March 2022, and it was published in March 2023. It is therefore already applied and enforceable.
A review of the standard is scheduled for April 2028.
The ISO 14083 calculation method:
The ISO calculation method covers all stages of the transport chain.
In fact, a transport operation can be made up of several links.
e.g.: 1 first transport segment from delivery point to breaking point, one breaking point, a second segment from breaking point to delivery point.
The transport carbon footprint is equal to the sum of the carbon footprints of the transport links (excluding the carbon footprints generated by the pick-up and delivery points).
In the example above, the carbon footprint of transport will be the sum of the carbon footprints of the 3 links:
1st link carbon footprint: Transport from pick-up to break point
2nd link carbon footprint : carbon footprint of the logistics platform where the rupture takes place
3rd link carbon footprint : Transport from break to delivery point
If part of the transport has been subcontracted, this part will also be considered as a transport link.
What is the emission rate?
The emission rate is the quantity of CO2e (= CO2 equivalent) emitted for 1 ton.km transported.
It is calculated using fuel consumption data for all the vehicles associated with your activity over a defined reference period.
Emission rate calculation details :
Thanks to the ISO 14083 calculation method, empty kilometers are taken into account in the activity coefficient, making footprint calculations more accurate than ever before!
