A freight forwarding best practice charter will be signed in Paris this June committing the signatories to sustainable logistics methods. This is part of the new freight forwarding programme that Paris has been developing over the last five years. The city wants to develop its logistics services and use cleaner ways of transporting freight.

The underlying aim of the programme is to both improve the environmental impact of freight forwarding whilst at the same time meeting the needs of the freight forwarding industry.

The programme was deemed necessary owing to the amount of pollution produced by freight forwarding. Freight forwarding has been shown to be the cause of over 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

As a result of the programme, by next year vehicles that cause a lot of pollution and are over a certain size will only be able to operate within certain hours. Within three years, certain vehicles will be prohibited altogether and night time deliveries will have to conform to noise regulations.

In addition to this, the issue of parking in the city will also be addressed. Freight forwarders will have to unload in thirty minutes although bays will be positioned in better places from a delivery perspective.

Paris is also trying to introduce a new way of thinking within the freight forwarding industry. It is trying to encourage freight forwarding companies to transport more goods by rail than by road. This is because rail transport is much better for the environment and causes less problems in the cities.

However, it is not just Paris that is trying to