> Cycle logistics for downtown deliveries GEODIS is also working on new alternatives for deliveries in urban settings. In 2022, GEODIS Distribution & Express teams tested a new way of delivering to their customers: the electric cargo bike. Thanks to a partnership with the Alsace-based company, Urban Logistic Solutions (ULS), the Group is able to supply retailers and individuals in downtown Strasbourg (France) using a barge and pusher combined with an electrically assisted bicycle delivery service. Advanced applications allow real-time tracking of vehicle movements and optimization of routes and last-mile delivery. This partnership is just one of the initiatives undertaken by GEODIS to deliver to 40 cities in France with low-carbon solutions by 2024. Optimizing loads and increasing warehouse density are among the drivers that transport and logistics companies can use, in view of the consolidation of the flows and storage entrusted to them. At GEODIS, these optimizations are based on the expertise of our teams, a very close dialogue with our customers and increasingly sophisticated information systems. The road transport activities – those of both Distribution & Express and the European Road Network lines of business – apply digital tools for planning transport plans, in order to optimize the choice of vehicles, loads and kilometers traveled. In addition, delivery routes are monitored and adjusted in real time – thanks in particular to geolocation – to take account of unforeseen events and reduce failed deliveries, for example. This know-how enables GEODIS to help its customers optimize the organization of their transport operations. > Optimization of packaging Optimization and densification efforts also involve reducing the size of packaging, a reduction that is also an effective means of rationalizing shipments and thus reducing CO2 emissions. In e-commerce, for example, many customers receive their goods in packaging that is oversized in relation to the size of the items delivered. This discrepancy gives a negative image of the seller and also has an impact on the carbon footprint. To help its customers optimize their packaging for shipping, GEODIS Americas has created a team dedicated to this topic. For one of its major accounts, GEODIS has worked on reducing the number of cardboard boxes: the experiment has resulted in a 38% reduction in empty volumes in cardboard boxes, which has been reflected in a 20% reduction in the volumes to be transported. Energy efficiency is a driver that has been used by GEODIS for a long time. It means both a reduced environmental footprint and lower energy costs. As a result of the pressure on energy supplies and prices in 2022, the Group has stepped up its efforts in this area. GEODIS’s 2022-2023 low-consumption plan covers the activities of logistics platforms and offices. It raises employee awareness based on a guide to eco-actions in the workplace, and includes actions to reduce energy consumption at each site. With regard to lighting, it provides for illuminated signs and non-safety lighting to be switched off and steps up the program to replace traditional lighting with LEDs. For the Distribution & Express line of business in France, this technology has enabled a minimum 30% reduction in electricity consumption at sites that are equipped. By the end of 2022, 59% of the Group’s built areas and 66% in France were lit by LEDs. Other actions, such as the installation of sensors for better control of office heating, ventilation and air conditioning, also form part of the plan. 39 2022 ACTIVITY AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT EDITORIAL > PROFILE AND AMBITION > CSR POLICY > SOCIAL > ETHICS > TABLE OF INDICATORS > ENVIRONMENT
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