The UK Centre for Sustainable Road Freight (CSRF) is attempting to get the haulage industry on the road to sustainability. The Cambridge and Heriot-Watt Universities, along with organisations in the transport sectors have come together and, with the help of a generous grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), they will conduct research into how the sector can be more sustainable in the future.
The Aims
The overall aim is to look into how the haulage industry can become economically, environmentally and socially sustainable. But just how will the centre go about this? Here are some of their more specific goals:
Recognise and develop solutions to the challenges faced in the transport sector.
Research the sustainability of all types of road freight transport.
Come up with a strategy to allow companies to meet the low emissions targets set by the government – an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050.
The general research aims of the centre are split into four sections: Core Activities, Optimising Long Haul Transport, Sustainable Urban Freight and Data Management and Scenario Analysis.
The Projects
One of the most important research topics is, of course, environmental sustainability, and the centre is looking to complete a plan for the industry to reach the government’s ambitious emissions goals. They have already set up a series of annual interim targets until 2050, and hope to log the progress over time to predict whether targets will be met.
They also want to optimise long haul transport, and to do this they will conduct research into how to maximise efficiency, by investigating potential aerodynamic improvements, ultra-lightweight trailer designs and other infrastructure elements.
Another way the CSRF are looking to make the haulage industry more sustainable is by looking into the cost effectiveness of certain carbon emission reduction measures. This will give freight companies and owner drivers a better understanding of which measures will eventually provide financial and environmental benefits for them, and indeed the transport sector.
Team and Partners
Of course, none of these projects could even go ahead if it weren’t for the generous funding from industry giants. The first five years of funding has come from EPSRC and the industrial consortium, which includes a range of large freight operators.
The intelligent research team consists of members from the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge, as well as people from Heriot-Watt University’s Logistics Research Centre. Without these determined and skilled researchers, the centre would be unable to achieve its goals.
The haulage industry has been heading towards a better, greener and more sustainable future for some time, and the UK Centre for Sustainable Road Freight is slowly getting us there. Thanks to funding, intelligent minds and a great array of useful and important projects, the future of the road transport sector is looking a little brighter.
Norman Dulwich is a Correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry. Connecting professionals across the UK and Europe through their website, Haulage Exchange provides services for matching jobs in road transport within the haulage industry, and is now the fastest growing Freight Exchange in the UK.
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