The Alliance for European Logistics (AEL), hosted the 6th European Logistics Summit in Brussels on Wednesday, 27 November 2013.

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Boosting logistics by cutting red tape and standardising environmental footprint measurement

The annual European Logistics Summit is by now a well-established tradition, bringing together policy-makers, politicians and industry to discuss the state of logistics as a sector in Europe. This year, the Summit took place as the Commission’s High-Level Group for Logistics is wrapping up its work, and the preparations for a 2014 EU Action Plan on Logistics are ongoing. Alongside a wide European strategy for logistics, there are also a couple of “quick wins” which have the potential of boosting logistics’ efficiency and competitiveness in Europe. These were the subjects of our panel discussions on the day.

Cutting red tape in the transport and logistics business

The Summit addressed, in its first session, key areas and possible regulatory actions for the reduction of red tape in transport and logistics, such as customs facilitation, access restrictions, and other administrative burdens.

What actions can policymakers and businesses take for a more efficient logistics sector? How will EU policies, such as the newly agreed Union Customs Code or the recently published Blue Belt initiative, contribute? What are the recommendations from high-level EU officials, MEPs, and other stakeholders, such as national customs authorities and business leaders?

Environmental carbon reporting standards for the logistics sector

The second session was dedicated to the need for common criteria in the field of carbon reporting and for measuring the environmental footprint of products and organisations. Without a standardised system, environmental performance (and any improvement and viable comparisons) remains difficult to measure.

Who should be driving this process and providing the methodology for calculation, benchmarking etc.? Are global standards feasible and desirable?