Case Study: NSF Supports APL Logistics’ Sustainability Goals

An important focus for APL Logistics was to manage its own greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while enabling its customers to do the same. The company understood that immediate collective action is essential because of the urgency of today’s climate change crisis. It wanted to join over 5,000 businesses in setting science-based targets for emissions to restrict global warming to 1.5°C.

Eva James, Sustainability Specialist at APL Logistics, explains how the goal of business sustainability became a key issue for the company. “Sustainability has come to the forefront in the past five years in a way we could never have imagined. We’re determined to stay ahead of regulation in this area and keep up with internal, customer and industry pressure.”

“We were new to this – we needed some support. We’d never put out a sustainability report. We’d never even asked ourselves all the questions in a materiality assessment.”

“From the first meeting, I knew we were going to work well with NSF. They have been with us the whole way. We hope our commitment can inspire and accelerate climate action across our industry. It’s critical we raise the bar.”

Eva James, Sustainability Specialist, APL Logistics

James manages reporting, GHG emission calculations, ESG frameworks, and road mapping. She is supported on data analytics and reporting by Sustainability Administrator Neil Bradley.

“With NSF’s expert input, we completed our materiality assessment, verified our Scope 1 and Scope 2 inventory, collected our Scope 3 inventory, published our 2023 sustainability report, and developed a road map for our next steps.”

In December 2022, the company committed to setting science-based emissions targets with the SBTi. During the first half of 2023, James and Bradley led the company’s development of the targets and mapped out its decarbonisation efforts. They worked in close partnership with NSF to verify Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions inventories.

“That was a huge undertaking – and NSF was very good at guiding us along the way,” says James.

The company set specific 1.5°C-aligned targets of an absolute reduction of 42% of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2030, from a 2022 baseline, together with a separate absolute reduction of 42% in Scope 3 emissions over the same period.

In Spring 2024, APL Logistics’ emissions targets were officially approved by SBTi, achieving the most ambitious designation available.

In addition, the company has improved its CDP accreditation rating. It had made an initial application in 2022, submitting an abbreviated questionnaire that gained it a ‘C’ rating. “In 2023, NSF helped us put out our first combined CDP report with our parent company KWE, which scored an improved ‘B minus’,” says James. “Now, we’re looking to improve it again. We have a plan and a path forward.”

“As a company with a global presence, we now have the data foundation and the measurement capabilities to start decarbonising. Having NSF there to help us put them together was crucial.”

APL Logistics is a leading global provider of order management solutions and other comprehensive supply chain services. It encompasses global warehousing and transportation services that enable customers to unlock financial benefits and increase business resilience through a combination of supply chain planning, execution, and visibility capabilities.

The company’s corporate mission is to design, build, and implement innovative, profitable services so its customers
can achieve supply chain efficiency irrespective of fulfilment channels. In striving for this goal, it is committed to the highest environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards.

In practise, this means conducting business responsibly and sustainably. APL Logistics’ customers have access to its ‘Panom’ system, which gives them options to move goods around more sustainably and helps them stay compliant with current regulations.

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