Inland Waterways: GLEC

💡 High-Level Description:

The Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) has established itself as a pivotal entity in shaping the approach towards calculating and reducing carbon footprints within logistics operations, including the Inland Waterways sector. GLEC's framework, recognized globally, is comprehensive and adaptable, catering to the varied aspects of logistics, from road freight to aviation and, indeed, to inland waterways.

For Inland Waterways, the GLEC methodology places a keen focus on vessel operational specifics, such as engine types, fuel consumption, and loading efficiencies. Moreover, GLEC's approach incorporates emissions not only from the actual vessel operation but also from the broader logistics chain, including cargo handling and transportation to and from port facilities. This holistic perspective ensures that all carbon sources linked to inland waterway transport are captured, laying a foundation for informed decision-making and emission reduction strategies.

Sample API Request

{
  "expand": [
    "items"
  ],
  "items": [
    {
      "type": "inland_waterways",
      "external_reference": "test_1",
      "origin": "DEBER",
      "destination": "DEFRA",
      "weight_in_tonnes": 20,
      "vessel_type": "pushed_convoy_push_boat_2_barges",
      "energy_scope": "ttw",
      "methodology": "GLEC"
    }
  ]
}

API Request Items

• "type": "air_freight" (required)

• "methodology": "GLEC" (required)

• "external_reference": A unique identifier that helps you link the resulting emissions to the requested item. Especially useful if multiple items are requested since SQUAKE cannot guarantee to keep the same order. The maximum length is 128 characters.

• "origin": SQUAKE will try to resolve the origin/destination regardless of its format. Ideally, for addresses use the Post standard, for airports use IATA/ICAO code (format: ^[A-Z]{3,4}$, e.g., "MUC"), for other locations used in trade and transportation use UN/LOCODE codes (format: ^[A-Z]{2}\W?[A-Z2-9]{3}$, e.g., "DEHAM"). You can also pass lat/long (format: ^[-+]?\d{1,3}\.\d{1,10}\s?,\s?[-+]?\d{1,3}\.\d{1,10}$, e.g., "+40.712,-74.006").

• "destination": SQUAKE will try to resolve the origin/destination regardless of its format. Ideally, for addresses use the Post standard, for airports use IATA/ICAO code (format: ^[A-Z]{3,4}$, e.g., "MUC"), for other locations used in trade and transportation use UN/LOCODE codes (format: ^[A-Z]{2}\W?[A-Z2-9]{3}$, e.g., "DEHAM"). You can also pass lat/long (format: ^[-+]?\d{1,3}\.\d{1,10}\s?,\s?[-+]?\d{1,3}\.\d{1,10}$, e.g., "+40.712,-74.006").

• "distance_in_km": Prioritized over origin and destination. If you don't have a distance_in_km, you can use origin and destination and the distance will be automatically resolved. If you pass both distance_in_km and origin/destination, then distance_in_km will be used.

• "weight_in_tonnes": Numeric value.

• "vessel_type": Values are container_vessel_110_m, container_vessel_135_m, container_vessel_coupled_convoys, coupled_convoys, motor_vessels_under_50_m, motor_vessels_under_80_m, motor_vessel_under_110_m, motor_vessel_135_m, pushed_convoy_push_boat_2_barges, pushed_convoy_push_boat_4_5_barges, pushed_convoy_push_boat_6_barges, or tanker_vessel. Default value is motor_vessels_under_50_m.

• "energy_scope": Values are ttw or wtw. Default value is wtw.

Default values

• “vessel_type”: "motor_vessels_under_1000_t"

• "energy_scope": "wtw"

Sample API Response

{
    "carbon_quantity": 143256,
    "carbon_unit": "gram",
    "items": [
        {
            "carbon_quantity": 143256,
            "carbon_unit": "gram",
            "external_reference": "test_1",
            "type": "inland_waterways",
            "methodology": "GLEC",
            "distance": 508.0,
            "distance_unit": "kilometer",
            "algorithm_specifics": {
                "algorithm_type": "glec",
                "data": {
                    "co2e_in_g": 143256,
                    "co2e_emissions_wtw_in_g": 185928,
                    "co2e_per_tonne_km_in_g": 14,
                    "tonne_km": 10160,
                    "reporting_year": 2024,
                    "transportation_mode": "inland_waterways_transportation"
                }
            }
        }
    ]
}

Smart Freight Center helped us fine tune our calculations of all freight and logistics related operations in accordance with the GLEC framework.

Bibliography

• Smart Freight Center (2024). Global Logistics Emissions Council Framework V3.1.

• Towards efficient and zero emissions (n.d.). Smart Freight Centre. Retrieved from https://www.smartfreightcentre.org/en/