SPONSORED BY
SUSTAINABLE
TRANSPORT
MANAGEMENT
What are the barriers to low-carbon transportation in business? And
when will new technology help this shift? These were two of the issues up
for discussion at the latest SB Round Table Debate. Tom Idle reports
C
ovent Garden’s magnificent London tionship between the Department of
Transport Museum played the apt host Transport (DfT) and the Department of
to this latest Sustainable Business Energy and Climate Change (DECC) work?
Round Table Debate. With road freight and How does policy coming out of one inform
fleet contributing a hefty percentage of the the other?
UK’s environmental footprint, we set about
finding out how better management from Paul Clark: The over-riding goals that we
those responsible for transport in businesses have in DfT are about congestion and emis-
up and down the country could make a differ- sions reduction. We alone cannot deliver those
ence – and ultimately find out what the barri- as a department without working with other
ers were to low-carbon transportation and colleagues across government departments.
good practice for those companies. We also Transport Minister Paul Clark (above, right) told the
wanted to discover how new technology Tom Idle: The Government’s Freight Best
Round Table Debate that the DfT’s over-riding goals
were congestion and emissions reduction and that
could help in this shift and when it was due to Practice programme has been running for a
cross departmental strategy was vital
come on stream. couple of years now. From what I can tell, the
Business leaders from the likes of United take-up has not been brilliant. where we could achieve more, so we have to
Biscuits, Marks & Spencer, British Gas, Saint continue to push that message out.
Gobain and National Express assembled in Paul Clark: One of the things that surprises
the Museum’s boardroom to tell their stories me as an MP is that there is a great deal of best Ian Berrill: There is some fantastic informa-
and discuss the future. (For a full list of partic- practice out there, so why can we not pick that tion out there and it is free. But the question
ipants, see over the page). Meanwhile, up more? Perhaps you are the people who can you have to ask is whether more investment is
Transport Minister Paul Clark MP offered to tell me why. The DfT is looking at using needed on the market side. Everyone in the
give the current state of government thinking marketing experts to see how we can get that room is working for a business that can prob-
from the outset and the group was completed message across. But the take-up and the inter- ably invest in expertise – plus we also have a
by industry expert Mark Browning, a director est is increasing. CSR agenda. But getting into smaller fleet
with Halcrow, the environmental consultancy We have also just launched the Van Best operators; that is something you have to look
sponsoring the session. Practice programme. The number of vans on at – how to get the message out there – that it
the roads has increased substantially over the is cost-effective to take the green road.
Tom Idle, chair: Minister, the common com- last ten years and, contrary to popular myth,
plaint aimed at government is that there isn’t they are not all white and they are not all driv- Mark Browning: It is quite a challenge.
much joined-up thinking. How does the rela- en by men. There are, however, serious areas About 45% of the freight sector is made up of
Sustainable Business ❘ February 2010 17
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