Lean & Green Award for Neele-Vat

On November 10, 2011, Neele-Vat became the first truly Rotterdam-based logistics service provider to receive the Lean & Green Award at the Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague. Neele-Vat is one of 70 companies and municipalities to have received this award. They were honored for their commitment to reducing their CO2 emissions by at least 20% within five years. Neele-Vat is helping to drive the “sustainability” movement in logistics.

Ambitious goals set

Ambitious goals have been set. By 2013, Neele-Vat aims to achieve a 21% reduction in CO2 emissions across all transportation activities. This applies to both transportation to the warehouses and transportation within Europe. The key measures lie in collaboration with customers and carriers. Through proper coordination with—and education of—customers, Neele-Vat promotes intermodal transport. Environmental requirements will be imposed on carriers in the future. Through this, Neele-Vat will actively encourage its carriers to adopt cleaner transportation methods. Subsequently, the logistics service provider aims to reduce empty kilometers by planning the cargo for external charters itself.

“As a logistics service provider, Neele-Vat is in control of managing logistics operations,” said Peter Vinke, Director of Neele-Vat. “As the central hub, we can make significant changes throughout the entire supply chain to protect the environment. We want to take the lead in this—within the Port of Rotterdam and across Europe—and actively involve the entire supply chain.”

Gerard Vos, project manager at Connekt for the Lean & Green program, is committed to kickstarting a promising development. Neele-Vat is regarded as a leading company within the freight forwarding industry and within the Port of Rotterdam area. The central role that Neele-Vat plays in the supply chain is also reflected in the company’s commitment to sustainable logistics. The Lean & Green Award was granted based on the responsibilities the company has taken on to make its own operations more sustainable and the guidance it provides to partners and logistics service providers in the supply chain. A good example sets a good precedent.”