As a nation, Australia is heavily reliant on the road transport industry. In turn, road transport by nature is a high user of petroleum fuels, and therefore producer of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide.
As a participant in this industry, Allied Express understand the impact that our activities have on the environment, and have a genuine desire to mitigate this impact as much as possible. Our commitment to this is demonstrated in three main areas.
Commitment on the Road
Allied Express work hard to ensure that our vehicles are utilised to the maximum capacity on each delivery, route and leg in our network, so that we are delivering the maximum amount of freight, for the minimum amount of emissions.
This will be further enhanced in the coming months, as Allied Express introduces our new routing software, which aims to ensure that our vehicles are used as productivity as possible, and the best available vehicle is allocated to every delivery.
Additionally, Allied Express work with our sub contracted drivers to ensure the emissions from their vehicles are reduced as much as possible. This includes working with drivers to ensure that:
- their vehicles are regularly and properly maintained and serviced
- they are driving as late a model of vehicle as possible
- and when they are purchasing a vehicle, that they select the right make and model
Commitment in the Office
Allied Express’ aim is to undertake "a hundred small actions" to ensure that we have a major impact in reducing the energy we use, the waste we create and the items we consume in our offices and in our depots.
Examples of this commitment include:
- Installation of LED lighting in our Melbourne depot, to ensure that less energy is used in lighting. Allied Express' aim is to roll this initiative out through all depots as we re-locate and update facilities over the coming years.
- Recycling, rather than disposing, of all plain timber pallets that come into our possession at depots across Australia.
- Recycling, rather than disposing, of all stretch wrap plastic that is discarded in all depots across Australia
- Recycling, rather than disposing, of all toner cartridges in our offices across Australia
- Moving from providing printed invoice/statements to providing electronic versions and online portals to access information
- Ensuring office air conditioners operate on a timed basis, rather than on a 24 hour basis
- Ensuring office lights operate on a timed basis, rather than on a 24 hour basis
- Assisting customers in their recycling programs, by collecting and disposing of old whitegoods, mobile phones and electronics from the general public
- Recycling, rather than disposing, of all paper, packaging and boxes used within the business
- And, simply, we turn off lights, turn off computers and turn off machinery every night
Commitment to Offset
There are a number of commercially available projects where businesses can pay money and achieve a carbon offset outcome. Instead of doing this, Allied Express wanted to take ownership of this initiative and ensure that our funds and efforts had a genuine impact on the local environment.
Stage one of this project saw Allied Express undertake a reforestation project, which entailed us planting over 1,000 trees, at a cost of $26,000, on land at the foot of Sydney’s Blue Mountains.
Stage two of this project, which is due to commence in the second half of 2019, will see a further 1,000 trees planted in the same geographic area. This project is being undertaken in conjunction with a team including arborists and horticulturists, and encompasses the initial selection of tree species, analysis of soil type, development of planting patterns and establishment of post planting care regimes.
Further information on our Reforestation projects can be provided if required.