What does it take to make more than 600 tonnes of CO2 emission vanish from the roads of Europe? The answer is: Collaboration and commitment! Greencarrier Freight Services, Green Cargo, Unifeeder, and the Port of Drammen have made it possible for Ranheim Paper & Board to move large transport volumes through Europe by using an eco-friendly short sea shipping solution instead of road transport.
Embracing local collaborations and eco-friendly transport solutions
The collaboration was presented during the Arendal Week – an annual forum where national delegates from the worlds of politics, society and industry meet each other and the general public to debate and develop policies for today and tomorrow. The theme of the event was “Everyone is talking about shifting road freight to sea and rail, but few are taking the plunge”.
In contrary to political directives, sea freight and rail freight has stagnated in favour of road transport in Norway. “Our attempt to follow up today’s road freight situation and look into more eco-friendly options such as sea and rail has been below everyone’s expectations. The problem is this type of commitment is not very big at a national level. This is why a local engagement and this new collaboration is such a good initiative”, said Arne Nævra at the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Transportation & Communications.
The new transport solution was voted for by representatives from both the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Transportation & Communications and the Norwegian Railway Infrastructure Company as well as the Norwegian Coastal Administration.
“This collaboration is an excellent example of how different parties can work together to enable more sustainable transport solutions”, said Kjell Ivar Maudal, Senior Advisor at the Norwegian Railway Infrastructure Company.
Why Ranheim Paper & Board decided to shift road freight to sea and rail
Ranheim Paper & Board is a leading supplier of paper in the Nordic area. Their factory, which is located just outside of Trondheim in Norway, has 179 employees and had a turnover of approximately 63 million EUR last year. 110.000 tonnes of paper are produced and shipped to customers in Europe annually. In addition, the factory receives 125.000 tonnes of recycled paper from Norway and Sweden which is used in the production of new paper.
“Until now, we have exclusively used trucks to transport our paper. Each year, 14.000 trucks have been driving to and from our factory through Europe. We have a strong desire to become more environmentally friendly and this is why we decided to use a short sea solution instead of road transport”, says Trond Ole Winther, Supply Chain Manager at Ranheim Paper & Board.
Paper transport from Norway to Austria by sea and rail
The paper from Ranheim Paper & Board’s factory will be shipped by train provided by Green Cargo from Trondheim to the Port of Drammen and by boat to Rotterdam in the Netherlands provided by Unifeeder and then by train to Vienna in Austria provided by Greencarrier Freight Services, instead of being shipped by truck 2400 kilometers throughout Europe.
“About 15.000 tonnes of paper, or 600 containers per year, will now be transported by sea and rail instead of truck. With this new transport solution, we will contribute to a greener environment and save the roads in Europe from the pollution of totally 600 tonnes of CO2 emission. The short sea solution also proves to be competitive in price, and moreover, it is equally reliable. This means better opportunities for loading, unloading and storing our goods as well as significantly less risk of cargo damages and unnecessary expenses during transportation, says Trond Ole Winther.
We are proud to partner up with environmentally-focused companies
Greencarrier Freight Services is very proud to collaborate with companies such as Ranheim Paper & Board, Green Cargo, Unifeeder, and the Port of Drammen that take their environmental responsibilities seriously. As the environment is always on our agenda, we hope that other companies will also take action to minimise the environmental impact of their operations and choose eco-friendly transport solutions whenever it is possible.
To find out more about our eco-friendly transport solutions and value-added services, please visit Greencarrier Freight Services’ website.
