60 SUSTAINABILITY oppert Biological Systems uses the BigMile Saas platform to calculate various scenarios for CO2 emissions
Koppert Biological Systems reduces CO2-emissions air cargo For shippers like Koppert Biological Systems, reducing air cargo emissions is a major challenge. Generally, most shippers have good reason to transport by air freight. Koppert Biological Systems is looking for solutions by using alternate fuels, different packaging and by moving activities closer to their markets.
Text and photography BigMile
O
ver the past 20 years air cargo tonnage in the Netherlands has grown significantly. In 2020 airlines carried 1.58 million tonnes of goods from and to the Netherlands. Although the Covid pandemic has had a major impact on passenger flow, it is anticipated that air cargo volumes, both in the Netherlands and worldwide, will continue to grow in coming decades. Thus, bringing about a reduction in total CO2 emissions generated by air cargo is a real challenge.
Alternate fuels There are a number of possibilities to have the CO2 emissions generated by air cargo decrease. The solution will have to be sought in adapting energy sources, for example, by flying electrically, by using alternate or sus-
Cargo Magazine
tainable fuels, such as biofuels, or by making blending of aircraft fuel with sustainable fuel compulsory. The influence that shippers have on adapting the energy source or the use of alternative fuel is, however, limited. Being the customer, they do not have their own fleet of aircraft. For this reason, Koppert Biological Systems, a producer of sustainable solutions for the cultivation of edible crops and ornamental plants, is participating in the KLM Corporate Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Program (previously known as the KLM Corporate BioFuel Program). “In this way, at least some of our flights are carried out using sustainable aircraft fuel”, says Jan van de Erve, Transportation Manager at Koppert Biological Systems. SAF is produced from renewable resources and is a sustainable alternative for fossil fuels. It is simply mixed
with traditional aircraft fuel and is suitable for all aircraft engines with no effect on operational processes. In this way emissions could be reduced by at least 75% as compared to fossil fuel and thus SAF contributes to a circular economy. SAF is, however, not yet widely available. Currently SAF accounts for less than 0.1% of the ±300 million tonnes of aircraft fuel used by commercial airlines.
Pollinators and pest control Another method is by a reduction in scale (volume, mass, distance), for example, by limiting long-haul flights which use the most energy. This is also not easy. Logistics providers after all have clear reasons for transporting by air freight. Koppert Biological Systems farms insects and mites; the natural enemies of greenhouse pests such as white fly and spider mites. The company also farms bees on a large scale: nature’s pollinators for crops and particularly useful for tomato cultivation. Koppert packs the natural predators into bottles and small boxes which
