Motivation and Problem As part of sustainability reporting, companies must disclose the ecological impact of their actions, among other things. Greenhouse gas emissions are generated in the logistics sector, which are identified and subsequently analyzed using a calculation process. Sustainability reporting and emissions calculation are accompanied by challenges. These challenges complicate the reporting and calculation process, pushing the primary goal of decarbonizing the logistics sector into the background. Furthermore, there are various frameworks, particularly at European level, which pose challenges for companies. Cooperation with transport service providers is also repeatedly criticized by various parties. Structure and Methodology After the first chapter, the introduction, chapter two sheds light on the topic of sustainability, while chapter three deals with greenhouse gas emissions and their role in logistics. Chapter four presents various legal frameworks and standards in the context of sustainability reporting and emissions calculation and forms a link between the theoretical part and the empirical research part. The empirical part links the findings from the theory with the results from practice, which are obtained from interviews with experts. In addition to interviews with specialists from Fronius subsidiaries, interviews with experts from logistics service providers form the basis for the qualitative content analysis of the statements. Concrete Results This master´s thesis provides valuable insights into the challenges that exist in sustainability reporting and emissions calculation in logistics. The quality of the calculation results correlates with the choice of calculation methodology and the availability of primary data. Many transport service providers are not prepared to share the primary data required for the calculation with stakeholders, resulting in asynchronous data availability. The results of the interviews show that Fronius subsidiaries describe collaboration with transport companies as difficult and inadequate, while the representatives of logistics service providers point to data protection and USP issues. In addition, this master´s thesis presents the different challenges between Fronius subsidiaries and logistics service providers. In addition to data-related challenges, there are primarily process-related, transport network-related and calculation-related challenges. Following the description of the challenges identified in the interviews, this master's thesis develops a guideline for addressing and subsequently mitigating the challenges. The guideline develops a scenario designed to improve cooperation between logistics service providers and stakeholders or commissioning companies. In addition, solutions are developed to optimize sustainability reporting and emissions calculation in a globally active group such as the Fronius Group. In addition to a regular, close exchange, the integration of technologies that can increase quality and minimize errors is also recommended.
Levels of data integrity in the assessment of greenhouse gas emissions illustrated by a use case in road freight transport
Litges, C. (Author). 2024
Student thesis: Master's Thesis