Skip to main content

Eco logistics

REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

The transport of products, as well as the raw materials and components used to manufacture them, is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions for Groupe SEB, which clearly aims to reduce them. Reducing the transport carbon footprint is one of the priority areas of the eco-design guide.

To reduce its emissions, the Group is focusing its action along four axes:

  • improvement of the loading rate of transport units (trucks or sea containers),
  • reduction of distances traveled (direct deliveries),
  • development of alternative modes of transport to the road (waterway, rail),
  • responsible purchasing (via the selection of carriers).

LOADING OF TRANSPORT UNITS

To reduce CO2 emissions from the transportation of products and components, the Group is continuing to improve the loading rate of transport units. It makes particular use of the EffyPACK process (for PACKaging system for supply chain EFFiciencY) and the PackSoft software that improves palletization. In 2019, it started to use a new TMS (Transport Management System) software package to optimize the container loading plans.

reduce the empty space inside packaging

The Group is also endeavoring to reduce the empty space inside packaging as much as possible. Transporting less empty space means emitting less CO2 while cutting costs. Since 2017, this parameter has been part of the product design/development process.

visuel ventilateur arno

The eco-logistics unit developed a tool for estimating the economic (avoided expenses in €) and ecological (avoided CO2 kg) savings obtained by optimized product design aimed at minimizing empty space in the packaging. It tested it with multiple teams and showed that a minor change could have a major impact, even without modifying product design.

Thus, in the case of the Ultra Silence Force (Arno) freestanding ventilator launched in 2020, the simple fact of dissociating the head, the handle and the base of the ventilator during the packaging (easy reassembly for the consumer) makes it possible to better arrange the various components. of the product. This results in a 30% reduction in packaging volume and void rate, therefore an increase in the number of products/pallet, with a double environmental and economic gain.

SELECTING AND ORGANIZING MODES OF TRANSPORT


The Group also fosters research into transportation solutions with a lower environmental impact. For long distances, primarily departing from China, the maritime route emits the lowest levels of CO2 and is the least costly. Emissions have also been improved by the use of new high-performance container ships: in 15 years, they have cut CO2 emissions per ton transported by half.

transport maritime

Alternative transport to the road

In other cases (pre- and post-shipments to/from ports, transport between the Group’s plants and platforms or those of its subsidiaries), the Group prioritizes non-road transport, i.e. transport by rail and river. To improve oversight of this initiative, the Group uses a tracking table to monitor the percentage of non-road transport in Europe for pre- and post-shipment to/from ports. For each entity (plant, warehouse, commercial subsidiary, etc.), changes in this percentage have a two-fold impact in terms of cost and CO2 emissions. In 2019, the percentage of non-road transport in Europe (EMEA) was 36%.

train ecologistique

Direct deliveries


The Group is also optimizing the organization of transport flows to reduce the distances traveled.

For example, it promotes direct deliveries to European customers from France from factories or from its Mions platform, without going through subsidiary depots. Likewise, containers arriving in Le Havre are, as far as possible, shipped directly to French distributors without passing through the Group's logistics platforms.
In the event of an urgent supply of components, the Group favors the train as much as possible over the plane, in particular between China and Europe. Rail times are twice as short as those for sea freight (3 weeks on average compared to 6 for the boat and 2 for the plane), which is often sufficient. As for the carbon and economic footprint, it is extremely more favorable than the plane (- 94% of CO2 emissions).

2023 TARGET

- Product transport 10% less carbon intensive (GHG emissions by product transported – 2016 base)