Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Build a Sustainable Supply Chain for a Better Future.

Sustainability

Ethics

Environmental

Woodland Group has been providing innovative logistics, e-commerce and supply chain management services since 1988.

We have grown by listening to our customers’ needs. Our culture thrives in a drive for excellence, innovation and collaboration. Woodland Group is a business with a purpose – we are conscious of our impact on communities, the industries we work within, and our planet. It is no secret that the logistics sector accounts for approximately 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, 11% if you include warehouse operations. As a company, we recognise the need for action which is why we continue to invest in and develop carbon-conscious solutions in the hope of leading the industry-wide transition to net zero.

What is Sustainable Supply Chain Management?

Sustainable Supply Chain Management is an organisation’s effort to use environmentally, socially and economically sustainable practices throughout stages in their supply chain to protect people and the environment. A company’s supply chain has a huge impact on its emissions as a whole, especially transport. On average, more than 80% of a company’s greenhouse gas emissions will sit within scope 3, meaning they’re indirect and often not easily controlled. Woodland Group recognises that this makes it a tough area to tackle which is why we are continuously improving and implementing new sustainable solutions, outlined within our Sustainable Supply Chains Programme.

For Woodland Group, our approach to Sustainable Supply Chain Management is to prioritise collaboration with our customers, ultimately leading to emission reduction for both parties involved. We do this via our Sustainable Supply Chain Solutions Programme, to help provide a structured framework to facilitate the reduction of emissions coming from our customer's shipments.

Key Components

1. CO2e Reporting: Monitoring and measuring customers’ impacts to gain comprehensive insights and analyse the data to drive carbon reductions within their supply chain emissions.

2. Green Supply Chain and Optimisation: Work with our team of experts to identify ways to reduce customers’ supply chain carbon footprints through smarter consolidation, alternative transport modes, and streamlining the movement of goods. This is how we integrate sustainable logistics into customers’ supply chains.

3. Sustainable Fuel Offerings: Fast-track customers’ green transitions with biofuel technology and reduce emissions without changing their operations.

4. Green Warehousing: Implementing low-carbon solutions as the standard across our facilities to pass carbon savings on to our customers as default. Solutions include solar panels, electric material handling and reduced plastic usage, to name a few.

5. Carbon Offsetting: Although Woodland Group does not directly offer customers the opportunity to offset their shipment emissions with us, our internal knowledge and experience allow us to offer support and advice to our customers who are choosing to offset emissions in conjunction with taking direct action to reduce emissions at their source.

Woodland Group’s Sustainable Supply Chain Solutions Programme outlines our approach to Sustainable Supply Chain Management. Its structure is based on the internationally recognised IEMA Greenhouse Gas Management Hierarchy to Eliminate, Reduce, Replace and then Compensate, and consists of five steps, as follows:

What are the key components of supply chain sustainability?

1. CO2e Reporting: Monitoring and measuring customers’ impacts to gain comprehensive insights and analyse the data to drive carbon reductions within their supply chain emissions.

3. Sustainable Fuel Offerings: Fast-track customers’ green transitions with biofuel technology and reduce emissions without changing their operations.

Sustainability challenges

There are of course many challenges in the journey to a more sustainable future, and this is no different in the logistics and transportation industry. One area is the well-known additional costs associated with sustainable alternatives, such as Hydro-Treated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

Despite this, Woodland Group continues to implement alternative fuels wherever the opportunity arises in partnership with customers who share our ambitions and vision for a sustainable future. In 2023, the proportion of our fleet that ran on HVO increased by 15% whilst at the same time Woodland Group continues to trial other alternative solutions including battery electric HGVs. Woodland Group continues to take action despite the uncertainties linked with the logistics industry’s transition to net zero and that we remain forward-thinking in our development of new sustainability initiatives.

Many of the technologies that are claimed as the solution to decarbonising the logistics industry are still in the infancy stages of development, such as green hydrogen and carbon capture and storage technology, and although these solutions will likely one day be critical to reaching a net-zero, our approach is to not wait for these solutions to become available but rather to take proactive action in any way we can today.

Woodland releases annual Sustainability Reports which we use to not only highlight the progress we are making but also where we see challenges that need to be overcome.

Accreditations & Achievements

In 2023, Woodland achieved a Gold EcoVadis rating. We also maintained this accreditation in our 2024 submission to the assessment. This was originally a 2030 target and has since been changed to a target of achieving a Platinum rating by 2030.

We have also been awarded the BIFA Sustainable Logistics and The Environment Award. This category is a testament to the growing importance of sustainable practices in our industry, and we were honoured to be acknowledged alongside some of the biggest international players who were also shortlisted.

Woodland Group is also a member of the Smart Freight Centre, an international non-profit organisation focused on making logistics more sustainable by working with businesses to track and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, aiming for net zero by aligning to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.

Our Roadmap to Net-Zero

In 2022, Woodland Group officially announced our commitment to reach net zero by 2050. Our Net Zero Roadmap outlines our action plan and the steps we hope to take in order to achieve it. Our main scope 1, 2 and 3 net zero targets are as follows:

1. Transition the vehicle fleet to net zero emissions by 2050.

2. Switch to 100% renewable energy by 2030 across all facilities.

3. Continue the expansion and implementation of our Sustainable Supply Chain Solutions. Beginning with all customers receiving our full supply chain carbon reports by 2025, we will continue to utilize smart consolidation, optimized routing, implementation of alternative transport modes, and sustainable fuels to reduce emissions wherever possible. We will then continue to set more targets as technology develops to allow feasible implementation.

4. Engage and educate our clients on sustainability and carbon reduction. Offering carbon consultancy and sustainability training to all clients to support their own journey to net zero. We aim to increase the number of clients we engage with on this topic by 10% per year.

5. Promote a circular economy, primarily by limiting waste to at most 10% waste to landfill per year by 2030. We will also target the reduction of single-use plastics across our operations, principally in relation to packaging and pallet wrap.

How do we work with our partners?

At Woodland Group, collaboration is key. Our Operations and Sustainability teams work together to develop tailored sustainability solutions that meet your specific needs. Given the diversity of our clients and industries, we take a customised approach to creating low-carbon solutions. This includes exploring alternative fuels, transport modes, and trailer layouts.

Our in-house Sustainability team collaborates with Operations and Sales to identify the best fit for each customer. This process involves creating hypothetical carbon reports to compare current practices with potential alternatives, such as different routes, fuels, or trailer layouts.

Beyond complimentary carbon reporting, we provide sustainable supply chain consultancy. Our experts help you optimise your supply chain to reduce emissions. This includes detailed reporting on shipments carried by all third party logistics providers, giving you a comprehensive view of your environmental impact.

Digitalisation is another focus area. Our online platform, Woodland Online, features a carbon reporting and calculator tool. We're continually enhancing these features to provide even better sustainability services.

How do we measure and report on sustainability performance?

We report on our greenhouse gas emissions through our annual corporate Sustainability Report. This includes a full scope 1, 2 and 3 emission breakdowns, as well as reporting on other environmental, social and governance metrics.

Aside from our own reporting, we also offer our customers regular carbon reports, on either a monthly or quarterly basis. This covers the emissions produced from their shipments booked with Woodland Group within the selected timeframe, displayed in numerous different tables and visuals to show the different transport modes, routing, intensity ratios etc.

We align these reports to the GLEC framework, focusing on providing best-in-class reporting. We also use Clean Cargo data, (carrier-specific primary data that Woodland Group can access through our membership with the Smart Freight Centre), so our emissions figures are calculated to an incredibly detailed standard.

Reports and Case Studies

Explore relevant industry insights, how-to guides, and examples of our collaborative approach to impactful solutions that deliver opportunities and sustainable growth for our clients in action.

Case Study 1 Example

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2023 Sustainability Report

See our first ever sustainability report, transparently showcasing and outlining the progress that we are making and our future priorities in relation to our ESG targets.