SMART FREIGHT WEEK 2025
This week, CLECAT attended the Smart Freight Week in Amsterdam. Organised by the Smart Freight Centre and gathering over 700 participants, the three-day conference was the opportunity to take stock of the progress made by the freight transport community in its journey towards a decarbonised future.
In the framework of the event, members of the European Clean Trucking Alliance (ECTA) gathered to discuss the future of the Alliance, which will celebrate its fifth anniversary later this summer. An upcoming ECTA study on key indicators for zero-emission trucking in Europe will be presented next week in Brussels. This study analyses the strengths and weaknesses of various countries in supporting road freight decarbonisation. Other conference sessions also focused on advancements in decarbonising the road freight sector. Participants acknowledged the challenges related to the deployment of zero-emission trucks – lack of charging infrastructure, difficult access to funding and financing opportunities – but noted that many use cases are already cost-competitive with conventional trucks and could be scaled up.
A significant number of sessions were dedicated to developing more precise guidelines for emissions accounting and reporting in logistics. Participants received updates on the CLEVER project, which aims to define accurate emission factors for calculating and reporting GHG emissions from transport operations. The project will feed the upcoming EU database for emission factors as set out in the CountEmissionsEU proposal. This project will contribute to the upcoming EU database for emission factors, as outlined in the CountEmissionsEU proposal. Ongoing research seeks to enhance the measurement of companies' carbon footprints, including emissions from logistics sites and verification procedures. With increased reporting obligations on the horizon, these initiatives will be crucial for ensuring accurate emissions reporting in logistics.
In addition, the conference highlighted the growing prominence of the Book & Claim system in the logistics sector, notably to foster demand for alternative fuels for maritime and aviation. The development of a certification and verification framework for market-based measures will help build trust and ensure the integrity of Book & Claim systems, thereby supporting the transition to greener transportation modes.