Rhenus Logistics Air and Ocean has introduced the first worldwide air freight carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction programme in the world. 

RHEGREEN, a free-of-charge service, offers the opportunity for customers to choose a ‘greener’ aircraft for the shipment of cargo by air freight – offering CO2 emission reductions between 10 and 40%.

Rhenus Logistics Air and Ocean has established a system that calculates rankings for airlines by considering the aircraft types, fuel efficiency and the distances involved in the shipment. The calculation system, which was validated by an external organisation is based on which aircraft is the most efficient in terms of CO2 emissions on any given route. 

For example, by choosing the Airbus A350 or Boeing 787 Dreamliner for the shipment 1,000 kg from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to Shanghai, customers can save one ton of CO2 in comparison to the average CO2 emissions on that particular route.

Rhenus now offers the RHEGREEN service from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to five destinations: Chicago, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai and Singapore with plans to expand to other destinations including Frankfurt, Brussels and Madrid among others.

RHEGREEN was developed by Krista Zuurmond, Quality Manager, and Frank Swart, Procurement and Product Development Air, at Rhenus Logistics Air & Ocean in the Netherlands. Their aim is to create awareness of the possibility of sending air freight with lower CO2 emissions and thus lead to heightened awareness throughout the entire logistics chain.

RHGREEN is one of several projects that is part of a corporate initiative entitled Rhevo, a Rhenus in-house innovation initiative to encourage employees to identify and further develop innovative ideas on processes and products by means of digital concepts as well as establish new ideas on services.

Tobias Bartz, a board member of the Rhenus Group commented: “The demand for a sustainable supply chain continues to grow. RHEGREEN is a major step in offering our customers the choice to reduce the CO2 emissions of their air freight. The roll-out of this free-of-charge service will offer our customers the opportunity to partner together with Rhenus on creating a more sustainable future.”