The transport sector emits around 21% of total CO₂ in the European Union, or more than 760 million tonnes by 2022. Faced with this reality, the challenges of reducing emissions and carbon impact, as well as the energy transition, have never been more crucial. Against a backdrop of sustainable development and growing regulatory pressure (European Green Deal, carbon neutrality target by 2050), transport companies need to find sustainable solutions to reduce the carbon footprint of their activities.
By focusing on concrete technological decarbonization levers, such as those proposed by Sinari (reduce the carbon footprint of your transport), it is possible to reduce the carbon footprint of road transport in a measurable, cost-effective and immediate way.
In road freight transport, particularly for truck fleets, regular maintenance has a direct impact on fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions. Well-maintained vehicles can thus improve their diesel consumption by 5 to 10%. Predictive maintenance, which anticipates failures, can take these gains even further.
Indeed, thanks to targeted preventive interventions (clean filters, axle alignment, adapted lubricants, etc.), up to 10% additional savings on fuel consumption can be achieved, according to some industrial feedback.
A truck generally consumes around 25 L/100 km (depending on vehicle type, route, load...), which corresponds to around 66 kg of CO₂ emitted every 100 km. A 5-10% drop in fuel consumption thanks to rigorous maintenance therefore translates into 3-6 kg less CO₂ per 100 km driven, per truck. In other words, optimized maintenance brings an immediate reduction in the environmental impact of road transport.
There's no need to wait for the renewal of the fleet with electric vehicles to see these benefits: preventive maintenance is an immediately available ecological solution for reducing the carbon footprint of road transport, without changing fuel.
In addition, preventive maintenance naturally reduces the risk of breakdowns within a fleet, prolongs vehicle life and reduces the need for early replacements. Ultimately, this also generates substantial savings in repair costs, which can be much higher than the cost of regular maintenance.
Finally, in an indirect way, a better-maintained fleet limits the need to manufacture new trucks, which in turn reduces the carbon footprint associated with the production of these vehicles (the "hidden" carbon footprint of truck manufacturing).
On-board telematics, coupled with GPS geolocation, use a range of sensors (engine, driving, etc.) to monitor a fleet in real time. The data collected can be used to optimize routes and fleet management, avoiding unnecessary mileage thanks to dedicated solutions such as our route optimization products. This reduces vehicle consumption and CO₂ emissions.
By analysing driver behaviour from the perspective of eco-driving (or eco-driving), these systems help carriers significantly reduce their carbon impact. For example, the implementation of an advanced telematics solution can enable a haulier to reduce the annual mileage driven by 10-20%, which translates into as much fuel savings and therefore a significant drop in CO₂ emissions.
It's also worth remembering that prolonged engine idling (idling) wastes diesel and generates unnecessary emissions. Reducing the time spent idling by 10% can save hundreds of tonnes of CO₂ on a large fleet. Telematics tools make this goal achievable by automatically detecting engines running idle for too long and sending alerts to drivers or managers.
Generally speaking, telematics can signal prolonged idling, abrupt acceleration, hard braking or excessive speed... The indicators generated (KPIs) are then used to train drivers, correct these habits and encourage good eco-driving practices on a daily basis. The result is smoother driving, optimized fuel consumption and a lower carbon footprint for each vehicle.
To effectively measure and reduce the carbon footprint of freight transport, it is strategic to combine two complementary technologies: preventive maintenance and telematics geolocation. Together, these levers offer the possibility of calculating the CO₂ emissions of each journey, improving the overall carbon footprint of road transport, and effectively steering any plan to decarbonize the sector.
In concrete terms, telematics technology (integrating GPS, engine sensors and driving information) enhances the information provided by maintenance systems. By centralizing all this information in a unified platform, we can continuously monitor truck consumption, actual mileage, idling hours and technical interventions carried out. The carbon footprint of each truck thus becomes operational data that can be managed on a day-to-day basis.
Automatic alerts can, for example, trigger a maintenance intervention as soon as a vehicle exceeds an over-consumption threshold, or as soon as excessive idling is detected. This makes it possible to optimize the transition to more sustainable transport without waiting for all vehicles to be fully electrified.
In concrete terms, a freight company in France exploiting this maintenance + telematics synergy can expect to reduce its CO₂ emissions by around 8 to 15% in less than a year, while optimizing its TCO (total cost of ownership) and reinforcing its environmental commitments (CSR strategy).
These gains come from better monitoring of emissions (measure to act), more eco-responsible driving and the elimination of unnecessary journeys. Some pioneering fleets have even observed up to 20% fuel savings thanks to these combined measures, which translates directly into an equivalent drop in their CO₂ emissions and carbon impact.
Thanks to these tools, logistics managers can measure the carbon footprint of each vehicle in real time, compare truck performance (consumption per 100 km, litres per ton-kilometre, etc.), and plan compensation or energy transition actions where the gains achieved are not enough. Based on the data collected, key indicators (e.g. litres of fuel per m³ transported, unproductive kilometres, idling hours) can be used to calibrate credible decarbonization objectives within the fleet.
This technological framework is particularly well suited to the specificities of road transport. Trucks covering very long distances have great potential for carbon improvement. By using telematics to monitor mechanical condition and optimize routes, and then scheduling maintenance at exactly the right time, the result is a more reliable fleet, fewer premature replacements for heavy vehicles, and reduced environmental impact.
The combination of preventive maintenance and GPS telematics can reduce CO2 emissions by around 8% to 15% in less than a year for a road transport fleet. Some companies have even seen fuel savings of up to 20%, which translates directly into an equivalent reduction in the carbon footprint of their operations.
It's crucial to be able to accurately measure the carbon footprint of your business in real time. Three KPIs stand out as essential: energy consumption per m³ transported, unnecessary kilometres driven and engine idling hours. Rigorous monitoring of these metrics makes it possible to calculate CO₂ emissions per vehicle as accurately as possible, to optimize the triggering of maintenance interventions, and to guide further transition (energy transition, carbon offset programs, etc.) if necessary.
The joint adoption of connected maintenance and on-board telematics improves fleet TCO (total cost of ownership), extends vehicle life and reduces the need for early renewal. They make a tangible contribution to reducing the sector's carbon emissions, and reinforce the environmental credibility of transport operators in France and Europe.
These solutions also provide reliable carbon footprint data, feeding CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiatives and sustainable development reports with tangible figures. Logistics managers can thus align their objectives with sustainable initiatives, monitor progress and decide on targeted investments or compensation measures on the basis of objective indicators.
In conclusion, the actions presented (optimized preventive maintenance and on-board telematics) are immediate and concrete levers for reducing the carbon footprint of road transport. They offer hauliers an effective means of reducing their emissions without delay, while improving their operational performance (fuel savings, increased fleet reliability).
At a time when climate objectives are becoming more pressing, integrating these technological solutions strengthens the sector's sustainability and paves the way for the transition to even cleaner modes of transport.
Of course, these approaches do not stand in opposition to other fundamental ecological solutions (adoption of alternative fuels, progressive electrification of vehicles, modal shift to rail, etc.). However, they do have the advantage of being immediately applicable to existing fleets. By combining eco-driving, rigorous maintenance and real-time monitoring tools, the road transport industry can align its activity with sustainable development commitments.