Learn How to Correctly Measure Your Emissions to Optimize ROI with Zero-Emissions Vehicles
You can’t optimize what you don’t measure, and when transitioning to a Zero-Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) fleet, you need to make sure you’re working with the right equations. In our single most popular blog post, we explored why most Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) calculators are wrong and how to correctly calculate TCO for ZEV transitions.
Be sure to check out that post and learn how to determine:
- Your optimal mix of Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles and ZEVs to achieve the lowest possible TCO today
- The optimal mix in 1 year, in 5 years, and in 10 years to achieve minimum TCO
- How to achieve your Net Zero goals
- What Capex and Opex budgets are required to achieve that optimal TCO
In this post, we’re going to look at how to use these measurements as inputs to optimize your low-emissions vehicle strategy, pilots, and purchasing decisions.
Adiona’s fleet simulation and AI-based routing technology can automatically calculate the carbon emissions of your logistics routes so you can continuously and strategically monitor your Scope 1 emissions. You can then use those inputs to optimize your strategy—here’s how!
We’ll explore the following questions:
- How do you measure emissions of your current mixed fleet of vehicles?
- What standards should you use?
- Can you use this for reporting up the chain and outward to your stakeholders?
- Can you compare ZEV vehicle choices to optimize cost vs. emissions and justify your decisions?
Like most logistics professionals working with green technology, you’re likely being asked non-stop what more you can do to minimize emissions—without breaking the bank.
Adiona’s software can help you answer these questions, helping you transition to greener delivery options while protecting your bottom line.
Real-Time vs. Simulated Evaluations
Adiona supports two modes of analysis: Simulation mode and Real-Time mode.
Simulation mode is a more cost-effective option that uses historical or simulated routes to give you a snapshot of emissions in a single shift or day. You can then extrapolate emissions over a longer time span for planning, optimization, and reporting.
Real-Time mode calculates emissions continuously, but is more expensive to run. And to be honest, it isn’t necessary for most organizations unless they’re offering real-time, lowest-carbon options to their customers.
If that’s what you’re doing, we can support you there, as well!
Standards: Calculations based on the GLEC Emissions Calculations Standard
Adiona’s calculations use the GLEC Emissions Calculation Standard, the only globally harmonized option, to calculate emissions for each leg of your routes.
The base calculation is rooted in accepted estimates for different vehicle types based on size and fuel type. You can improve the estimate and refine it by providing:
- Vehicle Make
- Vehicle Model
- Fuel type
- Vehicle production year
Other relevant details if they’re available.
It’s also easy to translate GLEC to other calculation methods if required. Just ask us!
Calculating Idle Time
Calculating idle time is tricky. You can get most of the picture from our route plans, your service time, and your loading/unloading times. However, if you have deeper data from telematics or run sheets, you can input this information separately to further improve the emissions calculation.
Emissions Calculation Example
Refer to our post about Correctly Calculating TCO for ZEV transitions, where we created delivery scenarios for a mixed fleet of different vehicle types. Below you can see this mixed fleet of Battery Electric (BEV), Fuel Cell (FCV), and Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles with different ranges and capacities.
You can see key information like the number of items, number of stops, cost per drop, route time, route distance, and GHG emissions (circled on the image). Our API allows you to extract all this information and more.
You can see that there are three vehicle types: ICE, BEV, and FCV. ICE has the biggest capacity and range, along with the highest emissions, and the other two are obviously lower. The emissions calculation for BEV and ICE is based on the electricity and other resources required to power the vehicle over that distance, load weight, and environmental temperature on the day, and it makes some assumptions about regenerative braking, which you can customize.
Right away, you can start to make decisions!
You’re Calculating Real Fleet Emissions with Adiona. What Now?
First off, bravo! You’re way ahead of the curve and your management team should be thrilled. Now you’ve got the information you need to report upward and outward across your organization, and you’re set to communicate this information externally whenever you’re ready.
The best part? These calculations are based on reality, not just some consultant’s spreadsheet!
In our next blog post, we’ll walk you through a real case study and show you how this information can be input into TCO optimizations, further informing your long-term strategy.
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