Physical Internet and its impact on the emission calculation standardization of transport chains - are we there yet?

Kurzfassung

Expectations are high that the Physical Internet (PI) will contribute substantially to the improvement of transport chains’ efficiency and therefore to a swift reduction of freight transport related emissions. However, the PI’s ecological superiority still needs to be proven in reality. Moreover, in a synchro modal hyper-network, where routing management is decentralized, mechanisms need to be implemented that support emission minimization, both for individual flows as well as on a systems level. A standardized emission calculation tool for measuring emissions of freight transport chains ex-ante as well as ex-post is therefore necessary. Over the past decade, various approaches toward such a standard have been developed. This paper analyzes whether the currently existing approaches of emission calculation standardization are able to provide the necessary evaluations and whether they are equally able to support a successful steering of transport within the PI, so that lower emissions of freight transport can be realized compared to today’s freight transport system. Based on an overview of the basic principles of the PI and on a summary of the status of transport chain emission standardization approaches, the paper analyzes how far these two developments are fully compatible already and which major gaps still need to be closed.