Van der Wal obtains 3rd Lean & Green Star

Utrecht - Today Van der Wal was awarded the 3rd Lean & Green Star. This rewards the transport company once again for realizing more sustainable transport: the "Kill Empty Running" program is bearing fruit.

Lean & Green is a European incentive program of Connekt for companies to make their logistics and mobility process more sustainable by concretely working on CO2 reduction. Since the beginning of the program, Van der Wal has been involved in order to realize this ambition.

This message has been published by:

• Transport & Logistiek - Van der Wal behaalt derde Lean & Green Star (18-06-2021)
• TTM - Van der Wals ‘Kill Empty Running’ werpt vruchten af (18-06-2021)

Sustainability in DNA

Henk van der Wal himself is strongly driven to live as sustainably as possible, for example he usually cycles to the office and never takes the plane for vacations. So it should come as no surprise that he has been advocating smarter and more sustainable transport for years now. However, getting other people and organizations on board has always proved to be a considerable challenge.

First award in 2008

Nevertheless, it was possible to obtain the first Lean & Green Award in 2008. Van der Wal was the first transport company to establish a cross-industry collaboration with a shipper, namely Rockwool. Both companies received this award, which was achieved with the use of long heavy vehicles (LHVs), an absolute novelty at the time.

“We must speed up”

"The consequences of climate change are becoming more and more visible, so I knew: we have to accelerate. I was looking for people who could help me do that. People who naturally incorporate sustainability into their work are always welcome at Van der Wal."

Kill Empty Running

In 2019, Van der Wal starts a comprehensive sustainability program called Kill empty running. Everyone at Van der Wal is participating in it according to their own discipline and talents. Kill Empty Running is based on three pillars and aims to increase sustainability with the means that are currently available. Because, as Henk says: "Making transport more sustainable now is essential if we are to stay under the 2-degree temperature increase by 2050. Why wait for others when enormous progress can be made right now? There are far too many trucks driving around partially or completely empty. Eliminating empty miles is something everyone can do right now!"

The 3th Lean & Green Star

The requirement for the 3rd L&G Star is that over a period of two years, CO2 emissions per transported unit must have fallen by at least 5%, and various reduction and optimization measures must have been taken in collaboration with customers, clients and/or colleagues.

Van der Wal achieved a reduction of 6% in one year. This was due to the initiatives from the Kill Empty Running program. An example of such an initiative is smarter planning by examining routes with many empty kilometers. But also the use of LHVs instead of mega-trailers in cooperation with clients has yielded additional CO2 savings.

A great result, especially since Van der Wal had already replaced almost its entire fleet with the latest and most economical Euro 6 trucks.

Fourth Lean & Green Star and more innovation

Returning to the need to accelerate, Henk explains:

"This year we have planned investments in various innovations, for example Van der Wal is the first in the Netherlands to order eight electric truck mounted forklifts.We have also just signed the Utrecht Hydrogen Covenant, which includes a commitment to purchase five hydrogen trucks by 2030. Of course, we have already started to achieve our 4th Lean & Green Star. Because besides sustainable investment, there is also simply a lot of gain to be made if we use the existing capacity optimally."

Contact: Stefan Scholten, Van der Wal, s.scholten@vanderwal.company / +316 52 52 54 44

About Van der Wal

Van der Wal is a logistic service provider with offices in the Netherlands, England, Poland, Romania, Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. It is their mission to provide the best possible sustainable transport solution based on fairness and respect for people and society. Van der Wal offers not only physical transportation (2PL), but also 3 and 4PL activities. See also www.vanderwal.company and www.vanderwal.company/blog. Are you interested in the developments at Van der Wal? Then you might want to follow us on LinkedIn. 

About Lean & Green

Lean & Green is the leading CO2 reduction program in which both shippers and companies working within the logistics services sector can participate. The program aims to structurally reduce CO2 emissions within the logistics sector by activating partnerships, sharing knowledge and implementing smart and efficient measures. Lean & Green helps companies on their route to sustainable solutions and efficient logistic processes and gives -by measuring the CO2 annually- recognition to the improvements in the CO2 performance through the Lean & Green 5 Star Framework. See also www.lean-green.nl.