In order to stimulate constructive and measurable transport procurement processes, NTM has developed and published various guidelines on how to put forward and enforce environmental demands on the transport supplier. A key element has been to ensure the ability to follow up on the transport supplier present performance, i.e. a need to focus on measurable improvements. This has previously led to a need to focus on activities that presumable leads to reductions rather than requiring reports on real improvement effects, independently on activities carried out. Another important aspect of existing transport procurement procedures is their aim to secure the responsibility of transport supplier to fulfil legal requirements and common business practices. The combination of activity based follow up on performance and the ambition to secure more formal responsibilities has led to very thorough full covering annual questionnaires being sent out and filled in by the transport service providers. The effect has been an annual bureaucratic collection and filing of this information, neglecting real performance and true improvements. Since the beginning of 2013 the EN 16258 standard is available which clarifies and align important principles and data when assessing the energy use and emissions of carbon dioxide equivalents from transport services. Based on the existing NTM data on various modes of transport and their performance combined with the EN 16 258 it is now possible to leave previous activity based models and move on to performance based transport procurement procedures.

Objective

NTME₂cap aims at meeting shippers need to secure legal responsibility and stimulate the improvement of the environmental performance of transport services. The performance is measured as specified energy use and CO₂e performance from the well to the wheels (wtw) forming general baselines that must not be exceeded by either individual or fleets of the transport suppliers vehicles or vessels. This example represents a large articulated truck, gross weight 60 ton on a highway and rural road with a gradient of 2%. The Engine is a Euro 4 running on diesel with 5% biomass. By giving the transport supplier an open choice to select relevant activity to meet the baselines requirements the most economically effective activities will be carried out by the transport provider. Method NTME₂cap consist of the following steps:

1. Statement of transport supplier’s responsibility boundaries with regard to own operation and operation carried out by subcontractors as 1-4 tiers levels of subcontractors. The reporting company may claim full responsibility for the offered transport service or state a limited responsibility including their own operation and a specified number or levels of suppliers, meanwhile the transport service may include more suppliers. Thus there may be a responsibility gap for the transport service. To overcome or handle this gap is a matter of negotiation between the two parties is needed.

2. According to stated responsibility boundaries a self assessment of overall sustainability performance must be declared on a contractual length basis. Major changes or updates during the contract periods must as a minimum be reported. The required sustainability aspects must include, if relevant general status reports on:

Traffic Operation Management System, TOMS

Traffic Safety Management System, TSMS regarding

Human resource Management Systems

Quality Management System, QMS

Dangerous Goods Management System, DGMS

Environmental Management System, EMS

3. In order to stimulate measurable sustainability improvements the NTME₂cap includes energy use and emissions of CO₂e measured in a well to wheel perspective. Emissions of air pollutants are considered to be reduced primarily by legislation on engine and fuel standards. Other measurable sustainability performances are for the time being not included in the system apart from the general commitments described above under section 2.

The use of energy and emissions of CO₂e are described as relevant baseline functions that must be met by the transport service provider. Fulfilling these demands may include one vehicle or vessel or a relevant fleet of vehicles/vessels, for example a fleet of distribution trucks. These baselines are defined by relevant transport vehicles and vessels from NTM databases and energy use and CO₂e emissions calculated from data in the EN 16258. Each baseline has a complementary baseline when auxiliary engines are used. NTM will lower these baselines according to a transparent development plan that will be anchored as realistic among experts and industry representatives. The baseline performance is presented per vehicle/vessel kilometre and does not consider the load factor apart from increasing fuel consumption. The transport provider states that their relevant modes of transport meet the baseline requirements. This statement must be: –         updated every year as a minimum. –         verified by an external auditor using the NTME₂cap audit checklist. The auditor should be skilled as an auditor but in addition undergo some basic training on the checklist. The stated performance on various modes of transport and the external audit report must be available for the shipper. Baseline data can be used as input data transport or supply chains assessment. If the transport provider performs better than valid baseline this data can serve as input in transport and supply chains assessment but also serve as best practice.   Summary

1. Participating transport service provider must clarify their responsibility with regard to the transport service they offer
2. The transport service provider must state their general systematic sustainability work
3. The transport service provider makes a verified declaration that they meet valid and relevant performance baselines where audit report must be available. The transport service provider may specify specific performance data, presumable lower than the baseline that in addition to baseline data can serve as input data for assessing transport or supply chains performance.