Digital air cargo community systems key to unlock sustainable cargo future

Delegates attended the CLEARVIEW Summit in Istanbul last week, to discuss how digitalisation and collaboration can tackle issues like sustainability in air cargo

By Rajni Patwardhan, Kale Logistics Solutions

21/10/2024

Reducing CO2 emissions across the logistics industry and supply chain is a universal issue. With governance, regulatory bodies and organisational ESG metrics honing in on carbon reduction and responsibility, the question remains as to how air cargo can alleviate its environmental impact.

Aviation is the fastest-growing mode of transport, in comparison with rail, road and shipping; but in 2022, aviation accounted for 2% of global energy-related CO2 emissions. [1]

The need is greater than ever for infrastructure providers to invest in sustainable solutions, especially digitally, for greater oversight of reporting and operations.

Airport Cargo Community Systems (ACS) offer tangible solutions for a sustainable supply chain future, facilitating data sharing to enable greener decision-making, as well as providing reliable information for compliant CO2 emission reporting.

Delegates at the CLEARVIEW air cargo summit hosted in Istanbul last week by Kale Logistics Solutions, which builds ACS digital infrastructure, discussed the importance of digitisation and digitalisation of systems in driving sustainability.

The reduction of CO2 emissions comes from route optimisation, reducing fuel consumption, paperless trade facilitation and reduced congestion for off-loading and on-boarding cargo.

With the impact of e-commerce being felt globally, end customers and shippers want to know that their goods are being transported in an environmentally responsible manner.

What is a Air Cargo Community System?

A Cargo Community System (CCS), or specifically an Airport Cargo Community System (ACS), serves as a critical bridge between landside and airside operations at an airport.

ACSs sit at the heart of the solution because they provide the centralised neutral platform for transparent data sharing across all operators responsible for the secure transit of cargo. From the customs agents processing the shipments, to the handlers that can operate more efficiently with greater visibility of their workflow and the freight forwarders who can optimise routes based on these interactions.

Using a CCS means the agents can spend their time more efficiently problem-solving, developing working relationships together and building strong tradelanes, instead of filling out forms manually that need to be copied and sent.

How does this affect the flow of sustainable cargo?

Efficiency and transparency between air cargo stakeholders is critical so that homogenous action to reduce carbon emissions is monitored and improved.

Kale Logistics Solutions’ ACS was designed with a simple mission: to digitalise and harmonise logistics interactions for a more sustainable future in logistics.

It has received UN accreditation twice for trade facilitation and reducing the environmental impact of air cargo.

ACSs consolidate compliance and reporting metrics so that all stakeholders can work together to improve their individual ESG reporting and reduce their impact on climate change.

A Cargo Community System (CCS) or Airport Community System (ACS) serves as a critical bridge between landside and airside operations at an airport.

These systems seamlessly connect stakeholders from the point of booking to when cargo is loaded onto the aircraft and, in the case of imports, from the moment cargo lands until it reaches its destination.

The use of this system has the potential to also aid ESG objectives through enhanced digital processes that can reduce carbon emissions through increased efficiency and communication of processes.

The Kale ACS solution is compliant with the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) guidelines for this reason and are developed in alignment with the United Nations Trade Facilitation Recommendation #33.

This ensures that the systems not only meet international standards, but also contribute to streamlined and transparent global trade practices.

Is there potential to expand to other logistics modes or multimodality?

The simple answer is yes. Ports, for example, are focusing on sustainability by electrifying equipment, using renewable energy and implementing green logistics practices.

They are also investing in digital systems, and environmental monitoring systems integrated into Port Community Systems help ports track and manage their environmental impact in real time.

Kale is using technology to drive the development of sea-air corridors and will soon be implementing this solution in the Middle East.

The biggest advantage is paperless operations, which can help a port potentially save 1,500-1,800 trees a year.

This then ties into integrating road and rail from the port, as transparent communications through a community system can expand the remit of reporting and collaboration far beyond the confines of the dockside, silos and warehouses.