Did you know Tesla sold $428.0 million of ZEV credits in the 2nd quarter of 2020, helping to give the company its first full year of positive net income ever?
All around the world, corporations of all sizes are paying more attention to their carbon emissions and finding environmentally friendly ways of doing business while reaping a monetary reward.
Amazon announced a commitment to be fully energy self-sustainable by 2025 and ordered 100,000 electric delivery vans to accomplish that task while BP committed to be carbon neutral by 2050.
The question is why are corporations focusing on reducing carbon emission through environmentally friendly ways of doing business? Overall sustainable practices are the key to success in our new world of climate change. Pollution emissions trap heat in the atmosphere and exacerbate global warming. This results in catastrophic consequences such as rising sea levels, coral bleaching, and harmful algal blooms. Moreover, corporations can reap monetary benefits (through incentives such as carbon credits) by shifting their practices to those that better serve the environment.
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a surge in online sales which directly increased the shipping of goods. Although this kept us safe and socially-distanced, it came at a high environmental cost as the current methods of transportation for shipping goods from a facility to your home result in high levels of pollution. The coronavirus pandemic and the inevitable shift to online shopping makes it more important than ever for America to consider the long-term impact our choices have on the environment.
Understanding Emissions
What does “environmental footprint” really mean?
Each mode of transportation has a “footprint” that demonstrates the impact that method has on the environment and society. The environmental footprint is calculated based on the harmful pollution emissions that are produced. The societal footprint is based on fuel spent, traffic gridlock, road repairs, and damage. These footprints are rated on a scale of 1-10 measuring fuel spent per ton, with 1 being the least fuel spent and most efficient. More fuel spent per ton directly correlates to more harmful emissions produced and a larger footprint.
Let’s look at some examples:
- Trucks are rated a 7/10, spend more fuel, and are considered the least efficient in comparison to railroads and marine transportation. Truck transportation increases gridlock on roads, which increases the amount of fuel spent and, in turn, emissions.
- Railroads, on the other hand, spend less fuel than trucks, but are still rated a 3/10.
- Marine transportation, however, spends the least amount of fuel out of the three and is rated a 1/10.
Reduced Carbon Emissions = Reduced Fuel Spend = Reduced costs
The less fuel spent, the less costly and less harmful the method of transportation is.
Since marine transportation is the most efficient mode of transportation, at Green Shipping Line, we plan to reduce the footprint and cost of current transportation routes by employing the American Marine Highway. To utilize this extensive network of U.S. waterways that are known, already in place, and cost little to maintain, GSL will build a fleet of short sea shipping vessels to lessen the environmental footprint of container shipping.
Environmental benefits not only advance our economy but, more importantly, they serve our planet. Reducing harmful emissions is essential in saving our home from climate change. Our Earth has been the stage for many incredible achievements, and we can only imagine what the future holds if we can decrease the ensuing damages to our planet. The American Marine Highway holds the key to a more environmentally-friendly future.