CEVA: A Pioneer in Sustainable Logistics
In a sustainability-focused global market, organisations must adopt green practices in the logistics industry to strengthen brand reputation and ensure long-term resilience.
Not only does integrating sustainability into logistics operations support regulatory compliance with emissions standards and evolving consumer expectations for green practices but it also minimises waste and resource consumption.
Here, we explore the importance of sustainability to CEVA Logistics and wider industry, detailing its recent achievements and challenges to face.
CEVA’s commitment to sustainability
To identify and mitigate the impact transportation and supply chains to resource depletion, pollution and greenhouse gases, we must notice the importance of monitoring the environmental impact of logistics.
Mathieu Friedberg, CEO of CEVA Logistics, highlights the organisation’s drive to crafting a greener future: “As a company with a strong CSR commitment, we closely monitor the part that our operations play in climate change.
"Our world is changing and we are responding. Our decarbonisation efforts are linked to our ability to innovate and collaborate.
"In the short term, we are reducing the carbon footprint of our warehouses (84% of our warehouses are equipped with LED; 34% with low carbon electricity), investing in low emission vehicles (tripling the number in operation during 2023) and finding more sustainable solutions with carriers for the transport we purchase for our customers.
"In the end, the expertise of the CEVA team gives me confidence that we will succeed.”
Benoît Tinetti, Global CSR & Sustainability Leader at CEVA, echoes this drive to emerge as a leader in the sustainable logistics industry: “As a leading global logistics provider, we are responsible for decarbonising our own assets but also play a major role in encouraging our suppliers and subcontractors to invest in the technologies of tomorrow.
"The decarbonisation of the logistics industry cannot be achieved alone—it takes investment and commitment from all parties to make the biggest impact.
"Because of this, we aim to be transparent about our CSR and sustainability strategy and initiatives—we're proud of what we’re doing and want to bring sustainable logistics to life across the globe.
"We actively communicate our goals, progress and challenges which can be seen in our CSR Executive Summary Report.”
CEVA’s sustainability goals
CEVA continuously showcases its ability to remain alert to the state of the logistics industry by setting ambitious targets that are monitored frequently.
Every quarter, CEVA tracks 11 of its CSR KPIs to ensure they are on target in its sustainability agenda.
CEVA has established several decarbonisation goals to achieve by 2025 that will support its overarching ambition of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 across all of its activities.
CEVA has already made incredible progress in its sustainability journey.
As Benoît highlights: “One of our biggest points of recognition this year was earning a Gold Medal and an overall score of 76 out of 100 from EcoVadis in its annual sustainability performance assessment.
"The Gold Medal achievement places CEVA in the top 1% overall for the logistics industry and top 5% for companies overall. It represents a significant 12-point improvement from 2023, highlighting our continued progress in CSR initiatives.
"The assessment evaluated CEVA’s sustainability performance in four key categories: Environment, Labor and Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement. CEVA scored particularly high in the Environment category, earning a particularly high score of 90 out of 100.”
The three pillars
CEVA’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy is based on three pillars that, together, aim to catalyse sustainable globalisation.
These pillars follow the same strategy of CEVA’s parent company, the CMA CGM Group and are aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) -
- Acting for planet
CEVA has identified three decarbonisation levers they can utilise to reach its overarching ambition of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050: low carbon solutions, its fleet and warehouses. - Acting for people
CEVA strives to care for both its local communities and employees by defining a global HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) vision and promoting education and training. - Acting for fairtrade
In collaboration with customers, partners and suppliers, CEVA is committed to crafting a responsible value chain. The logistics organisation leads programmes on influence peddling, compliance with economic sanctions and anti-corruption to enhance integrity, ethics and compliance.
CEVA also released a new sub-brand to enhance its sustainable logistics solutions - CEVA FORPLANET.
The focal point of this sub-brand lies in promoting circular economies and low-carbon transport.
Looking to the future
When asked what challenges he believes will become the most significant in the coming years, Benoît explains how: “Regarding decarbonisation, which is a key commitment at CEVA but also for our customers, the major challenge in the coming years relates to the extra cost of low-carbon fuels, whatever the mode of transport.
"These fuels will be essential to reach net zero carbon.
"This extra cost is directly linked to the availability of these alternative fuels and the required scale-up to democratise their use.
"It is reasonable to think that logistics will cost more in the coming years than it does now due to this common objective to reduce carbon emissions.
"A fair split of this premium is necessary for its acceptance by all actors.”
CEVA’s holistic dedication to sustainability highlights its ability to adapt to the evolution of consumer demands for a greener future and secures its position as a trailblazer in the sustainable logistics market.
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