MEETING THE INCREASING CUSTOMER DEMAND FOR SUSTAINABILITY
PANALPINA SUSTAINABLE LOGISTICS TO MEET CUSTOMER DEMAND 02
WRITTEN BY
SOPHIE CHAPMAN PRODUCED BY
NATHAN HOLMES
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PA N A L P I N A
PANALPINA’S GLOBAL HEAD OF QUALITY, HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT, LINDSAY ZINGG, REVEALS HOW THE COMPANY IS LISTENING TO CUSTOMER DEMAND AND IMPLEMENTING A SUSTAINABILITY TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY
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he Panalpina Group is one of the world’s leading providers of supply chain solutions. It focuses on four core products – Air Freight,
Ocean Freight, Logistics and Manufacturing, Energy and Project Solutions – and operates globally with 500 offices across 70 markets and clientele spanning 12 different industries. For Panalpina, sustainability is a top priority. “I think sustainability is absolutely the way the world’s going. 14 years ago, these issues were never talked about and now it’s becoming a differentiator and a key aspect of business operations,” says Lindsay Zingg, the firm’s Global Head of Quality, Health, Safety and Environment. “We’re finding companies won’t work with us unless we are climate friendly and are willing to help them achieve their climate goals. It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s a core part of how we must do business.” Over the past decade, Panalpina has fully embraced sustainability and, more importantly,
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PA N A L P I N A
“ W E HAVE BECOME ONE OF THE TOP COMPANIES FOR SUSTAINABILITY – IT’S REALLY BEEN A MASSIVE TRANSFORMATION” — Lindsay Zingg, Global Head of Quality, Health, Safety and Environment, Panalpina
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the changes its customers, employees and shareholders expect. “Honestly, we have now become one of the top companies for sustainability – it’s really been a massive transformation. Everyone from our management team in Basel to employees in the warehouses around the world have had to change their mindset and approach. It’s been really motivating to see,” Zingg says. “Sustainability is really important in our industry.” When it comes to ensuring the company is running its operations sustainably, Zingg attributes this to “defining clear goals, having a clear organisation with sustainability managers and allocating the necessary resources in terms of people, time and tools”. Demands from customers, employee interests and regulation are the three key drivers of the recent shift in the logistics industry regarding sustainability. “We’re seeing that the retail and automotive industries – our big consumer-facing customers – are highlighting the importance of sustainability. Some of our customers want to be carbon neutral by 2020. For that to happen we must make sure that we,
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘PANALPINA – GLOBAL PLASTIC CAMPAIGN’
as their logistics provider, are reducing our own CO2 emissions.” In response, the firm has deployed
Taking this even further, in 2015 Panalpina committed to a sciencebased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
biodiesel trucks in Singapore to serve
reduction targets and was one of the
its customer L’Oréal. Last year, the
first businesses in the logistics industry
company launched an agreement with
to have them approved by the Science
CMA CGM to reduce carbon emissions
Based Target initiative. As part of this,
caused by ocean freight. The goal
the company has pledged to lower its
focuses on the use of liquified natural
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 20%
gas (LNG) powered vehicles that
by 2025 against a 2013 baseline. Scope
will emit 25% less CO2 emissions,
3 emissions from business travel will
99% less sulfur emissions, 99% less
be reduced by 25% from 2017 levels.
fine particles and 85% less nitrogen oxides emissions.
As another part of its effort to minimise its environmental impact, w w w.pa na l pin a . com
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PA N A L P I N A
Panalpina (Philippines) supporting underprivileged children
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Panalpina has incorporated recycling
waste is segregated and sold to recy-
into its sustainability transformation
cling companies as possible to reduce
strategy, ensuring it recycles as many
the amount of waste going into landfill.
waste materials as possible, as well as
Between 2013 and 2018, Panalpina
sourcing new materials from recycled
used 38% less paper in its operations,
products. The company aims to use as
as well as 28% less water despite its
many recycled products in its day-to-
employee figure remaining constant.
day operations as possible – including
The company’s sustainability opera-
using 100% recycled plastic from
tions span across biodiesel trucks,
Dubai for its polo shirts. The business
LED lighting, tree planting, recycling,
has also partnered with the Canadian
water conservation, the introduction
firm Shred-it to sustainably dispose of
of electric vehicles and less air travel.
its wastepaper. The business ensures
The scope of Panalpina’s dedication to
as much of its cardboard and plastic
helping the environment and meeting
customer demand. As an employer of 14,500 people, the company has worked hard to encourage its staff to support the strategy, ensuring that every level of the business is producing as little environmental impact as possible. But for Panalpina, sustainability is not just GHG emissions and environmental issues. It also includes the health and safety of employees,
“ W E ARE LOOKING FOR POSITIVE ACTIONS THAT BENEFIT NOT ONLY THE COMPANY BUT ALSO THE COMMUNITIES WHERE WE OPERATE” — Lindsay Zingg, Global Head of Quality, Health, Safety and Environment, Panalpina
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Lindsay Zingg Lindsay Zingg, a chemist by training, has been Panalpina’s Global Head of Quality, Health, Safety and Sustainability for 14 years. With over 20 years’ experience in the field of sustainability, she spent her early years in the oil and gas industry before transitioning to the logistics world. In her role at Panalpina, she has led the effort to attain global certification according to ISO 14001, 9001 and OHSAS 18001, and is the driving force behind Panalpina’s GHG reduction programs, its record setting health and safety programs, achieving an “-A” score from CDP and its sustainability reporting efforts. Most importantly she is the mother to two young children, for whom she is committed to leave a healthier, more sustainable world. w w w.pa na l pin a . com
PA N A L P I N A
“ E VERYONE FROM OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM IN BASEL TO EMPLOYEES IN THE WAREHOUSES AROUND THE WORLD HAVE HAD TO CHANGE THEIR MINDSET AND APPROACH. IT’S BEEN REALLY MOTIVATING TO SEE” — Lindsay Zingg, Global Head of Quality, Health, Safety and Environment, Panalpina
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Shanghai Port
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providing high quality services, con-
standards for quality and environmen-
ducting business in an ethical manner,
tal management. Most important of all,
innovation and thought leadership
customers are recognising Panalpina’s
– and, ultimately, helping customers
outstanding sustainability programs in
achieve their sustainability goals. It has
their RFQ processes.
made great progress in all of these
Panalpina partners with external
areas. In 2018, the Panalpina team set
agencies to help them achieve their
a new record for health and safety
goals. Two Swiss-based firms, Sus-
performance, the company’s best year
tainserv in Zurich and Sulytics in Basel,
yet. Its ethics and compliance programs
are essential partners who provide
are considered best-in-class, and the
advice and tools to guide Panalpina’s
company is globally certified according
sustainability efforts. Panalpina has
to ISO9001 and ISO14001, the leading
deployed a tool from Sulytics, which w w w.pa na l pin a . com
PA N A L P I N A
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Panalpina (Cambodia), working on improvements at schools
Panalpina (Kenya), supporting school children in Kenya Packing for a relief flight for Unicef
15 it uses to collect data from all of its
rate sustainability not only by its cus-
offices. The web-based platform has
tomers but by several external groups.
been developed with state-of-the art
For example, CDP (formerly known as
sustainability accounting capabilities,
the Carbon Disclosure Project), the
enables the company to transparently
premier platform for corporate GHG
assess its sustainability data and
reporting, gave the company a grade of
efficiently report to senior management
“-A� in 2018 for its response to climate
teams and external stakeholders.
change issues. The business is one
In addition, Sustainserv has provided
of only 12 companies in Switzerland to
strategic guidance, including materiality
be ranked so highly by the organisation,
assessments and support for sustaina-
with the average ranking for firms in the
bility reporting for Panalpina for almost
logistics industry at a C-level. Panalpina
10 years.
has also received a Gold rating from
With this support, Panalpina has been recognised as a leader in corpo-
EcoVadis for its corporate social responsibility, placing within its top 3% w w w.pa na l pin a . com
PA N A L P I N A
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Panalpina (Taiwan), collecting and shipping shoes to Africa
performers overall and in the top 1% of its industry. Panalpina engages all of its employees in these activities. In 2014, the firm launched Sustainable Action Week to encourage members of its staff to join forces and focus on the sustainability mission of the company. Since its start, nearly 1,500 initiatives have taken place globally, benefiting those most in need and improving the sustainability of Panalpina workplaces and the communities where it operates. In 2018, more than 10 customers and 25 charities took part in over 400 activities in all of Panalpina’s offices. Charities sup-
Panalpina (Taiwan), shoes for life inititave to support Africa
ported this past year include the Basel Area Cancer Foundation and many local charities across Asia. Panalpina’s teams took part in activities including removing plastic waste from beaches, cleaning children’s schools, working with disadvantaged children, helping feed the disadvantaged members of the community and working with a home for the elderly. The company also organises relief flights for UNICEF on an annual basis, targeting different nations in Africa each year and supplying relief goods to countries that w w w.pa na l pin a . com
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PA N A L P I N A
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“ I THINK THE WHOLE SUSTAINABILITY TOPIC IN FIVE YEARS WILL BE ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT LEVEL AGAIN” — Lindsay Zingg, Global Head of Quality, Health, Safety and Environment, Panalpina
require humanitarian assistance. Over the past 14 years, Panalpina has seen a huge transformation in becoming a global leader for sustainability. “We are looking for positive actions that benefit not only the company but also the communities where we operate,” comments Zingg. Panalpina has also found that using the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework has been helpful to struc-
500
Number of offices worldwide
1935
Year founded
14,500
Approximate number of employees
ture its efforts.. The company selected
different level again,” she adds.
six SDGs from the 17 that are most im-
As it becomes increasingly important
portant to its operations. “I structured
for big businesses and their consumers
the whole department around those
to look at the environmental impact of
goals and we measure per each goal
every stage of the supply chain, Lindsay
how many initiatives we do for them.
and her team will continue to ensure
It’s really been the umbrella that we
Panalpina remains at the forefront of
needed to bring this all together in one
the sustainability scene.
place,” says Zingg. “At the same time, I think the whole sustainability topic in five years will be on a completely w w w.pa na l pin a . com
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www.panalpina.com/www/ global/en/home.html