Carbon Reporting for Logistics and Transport Companies

Why Logistics and Transport Have the Most Complex Carbon Profiles

Logistics and transport companies face a harder calculation problem than most sectors. Your Scope 1 emissions come from dozens of vehicles burning fuel at variable rates across thousands of journeys. Your Scope 3 includes subcontracted haulage where you don't hold the fuel data directly. And your enterprise clients increasingly need specific tonne-kilometre intensity figures, not just a total.

This guide walks through every emissions source for road freight, courier operations, warehousing, and freight forwarding — with exact calculation methods for each.

What Are the Main Scope 1 Sources for a Logistics Company?

Scope 1 covers direct combustion from assets you own or lease. For a transport company:

• Diesel for HGVs (articulated, rigid, drawbar) — your dominant source in most cases
• Diesel for vans and light commercial vehicles — last-mile delivery fleets
• Diesel for refrigerated transport units (TRUs) — trailer-mounted or cab-mounted refrigeration engines burn diesel independently of the traction engine
• Diesel for site generators and forklifts at owned depots
• Petrol and diesel for company cars — office and management fleet
• Refrigerant leaks from TRUs and depot cold stores — R-404A or R-452A at high GWP

The most commonly missed source is TRU fuel. Refrigerated trailer units run their own diesel engines continuously during transit and loading. If you operate temperature-controlled vehicles, TRU consumption should be tracked separately on your fuel card statements.

How Do You Calculate HGV Emissions?

Two methods — choose based on your data availability:

Method 1: Fuel-based (most accurate) Use fuel card statements to find annual diesel consumption in litres per vehicle or fleet-wide.

Worked example — 8 HGVs, 120,000 litres annual diesel: 120,000 × 2.683 ÷ 1,000 = 321.9 tCO2e

Method 2: Distance-based (when fuel records are unavailable) Use GPS mileage logs or tachograph data.

Worked example — articulated HGV, 180,000 km/year: 180,000 × 0.617 ÷ 1,000 = 111 tCO2e per vehicle

How Do You Account for Subcontracted Haulage?

Subcontracted haulage sits in Scope 3 Category 4 (upstream transport) — it is not Scope 1 because you do not own the vehicles. But procurement questionnaires from your enterprise clients increasingly ask for it.

The practical approach for subcontracted freight: - Request subcontractor fuel data — large hauliers can provide tonne-km figures or fuel consumption totals. Many now issue environmental data sheets alongside invoices. - Estimate from invoiced tonne-km — if you know the distance and load for each subcontracted movement, apply DEFRA 2023 distance-based factors. - Use spend-based estimation — for spend data only, apply the DEFRA spend-based freight factor (0.54 kgCO2e per £ of road freight spend). Less accurate but acceptable for initial reporting.

State clearly in your methodology which approach you used for subcontracted movements.

What Is the Emissions Intensity Metric Procurement Teams Want?

Enterprise clients almost always ask for gCO2e per tonne-kilometre — the standard freight intensity metric.

Calculation: Total fleet emissions (kgCO2e) ÷ total freight transported (tonne-km) × 1,000 = gCO2e/tonne-km

Worked example: Fleet total: 850,000 kgCO2e Annual freight: 12 million tonne-km 850,000 ÷ 12,000,000 × 1,000 = 70.8 gCO2e/tonne-km

For context, a well-optimised UK HGV fleet operating at good load factors runs at 60–90 gCO2e/tonne-km. A poorly loaded or older fleet may be 120–160 gCO2e/tonne-km.

How Do You Calculate Scope 2 for a Logistics Depot?

Scope 2 covers electricity at your owned or leased depots, offices, and cold stores.

Cold store electricity is typically the largest depot energy consumer. If you have sub-metered data for refrigeration vs. general building use, report them separately — this gives clearer reduction targets.

How Do You Get a Carbon Passport as a Logistics Company?

DeCarbonOPS covers all the sources above. You enter your total fleet diesel consumption, TRU fuel separately, depot electricity and gas, business travel, and any subcontracted freight estimates. The platform calculates your Scope 1, 2, and 3 totals, produces your tonne-km intensity figure, and generates a verification URL ready for SAP Ariba, Coupa, or any email questionnaire — in under 30 minutes for a typical fleet operator.