DP World Selects Pledge for Carbon-Cutting Metrics

DP World is constantly looking for new ways to reduce the environmental impact of its operations, as well as those of its clients.

It’s why the logistics giant has selected Pledge to deliver carbon-cutting metrics for and accurately measure the impact of its innovative road to rail programme in the UK. 

DP World’s Modal Shift Programme (MSP) financially incentivises cargo owners to switch from road to rail for freight transport from the Port of Southampton to railheads within a radius of 140 miles. 

Its overarching aim is to help address the current under-utilisation of the UK’s rail freight network.

Pledge: Trusted by freight forwarders

Founded in 2021 by David de Picciotto, Thomas Lucas and Andre Mohamed, Pledge enables freight forwarders to offer supply chain partners the ability to measure, report, reduce and remove their Scope 3 carbon emissions. 

The platform is accredited by the Smart Freight Centre to conform to the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) Framework for measuring transport and logistics emissions. 

By utilising Pledge, DP World will be well placed to understand the impact of the programme, broken down by every container that leaves the port by rail. This will also allow for the emissions reporting required by international, national and regional reporting regulations, as well as the figures required for customers’ emission reduction and offsetting targets. 

“The Modal Shift Programme has allowed our customers to explore how rail can be effectively utilised to achieve lower carbon for international supply chains serving the UK economy,” explains John Trenchard, VP UK Commercial & Supply Chain at DP World.

“Due to the scale and originality of the programme, we wanted to make sure we worked with a trusted, independent third party to calculate carbon savings from the programme. 

“Pledge was willing to work closely with us to understand the considerations of the programme and was able to optimise its system for our requirements. The solution is user friendly and easy to use for mass journey calculations.”

From road to rail

While the volume of cargo moved by rail from Southampton had previously dropped by 10% in the decade up to 2023, the MSP has reversed this trend, increasing the share of freight moved by rail from 21% to 30% since its launch in September 2023. 

This serves as a significant contribution to the UK Government’s 2050 target for a 75% increase in rail freight to reduce congestion and emissions on the roads.

Trains generate a significantly lower level of emissions than tracks carrying the same load. The MSP has already removed 6,400 tonnes of CO2 equivalents (CO2e) in its first six months of operation.

Working out how many kilos of CO2e are saved for every consignment is made easy by the Pledge platform, which uses cargo weight, origin and destination, the type and characteristics of the vehicle used and other factors, such as road characteristics and elevation levels, to establish the road-based carbon footprint for each journey. 

Footprint for a rail-based journey, with trucks only used for the last mile, is also calculated. The difference between the two represents the carbon emissions savings made.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with DP World to create ongoing, data-driven proof of the impact of its Modal Shift Programme,” adds David de Picciotto, Co-Founder and CEO at Pledge. “Understanding and quantifying emissions is a requirement for global businesses and the vital first step towards reducing them. 

“As is often said, ‘you can't improve what you don't measure’. We hope what’s happening in Southampton will inspire ports and other transit hubs worldwide to emulate its success in tackling some of the key challenges of the climate crisis.”

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