Is it better to transport goods by truck or by train? Is it advantageous for a company to relocate part of its supply to reduce its pollution? Investissement Québec is launching a tool on Thursday allowing Quebec businesses to calculate their environmental footprint based on the modes of transportation they choose to obtain their supplies.
“We have developed a calculator which is intended to be a decision-making tool and which is easy to use for businesses,” summarizes Nicolas Turgeon, director of sustainable productivity at Investissement Québec. It makes it possible to “measure the gains in greenhouse gas emissions [GES] by comparing different supply scenarios depending on location, quantity of goods and means of transport used,” explains Mr. Turgeon.
As an example, we take the transport of 300 tonnes of goods imported from Mexico to Boucherville, over approximately 4,650 kilometers. If the journey is made by truck only, GHG emissions linked to fuel combustion rise to approximately 87 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂). However, if part of it is done by rail transport instead, emissions fall by 60%, to around 32 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, the calculator shows.
Accessible free of charge, this tool aims first “to raise awareness among businesses about sustainable development,” says Mr. Turgeon. “After that, if necessary, the company can be supported by our experts to go further,” he adds.
And relocation?
The relocation of “short circuit” supply chains inevitably reduces emissions linked to transport, notes the expert. His colleague Stéphane Drouin, vice-president of Quebec purchasing and economic development at Investissement Québec, adds that this can sometimes even present an economic advantage.
To demonstrate this, Investissement Québec provides businesses with another calculator, which estimates the real cost of imports.
The institution thus estimates, for example, that a Boucherville factory which would replace its supply of 300 tonnes of goods coming from Dubai with a supply coming from Quebec could reduce its costs by approximately $1.66 million. In this case, even if the Quebec product cost 30% more than that of Dubai, the savings linked to the reduction in transport costs would exceed the increase in the cost of goods, indicates Investissement Québec.
And still using the same example, the company would reduce its GHG emissions linked to transport by almost 90%: they would go from 37 to less than 4 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.
The reflection surrounding relocation is all the more relevant as “dark clouds” hang over the transportation sector, argues Mr. Drouin. He cites in particular the “cost of maritime transport, which is growing strongly”, as well as the geopolitical and environmental events which are disrupting transport in the Red Sea or in the Panama Canal. “We must not wait for the next crisis to start acting,” he maintains.