Danone Waters of America
At a Glance
Industry
Consumer Packaged Goods
Project Types
Zero Emission Vehicles, Freight and Logistics, Sustainability and Energy Management Strategy
Year
2018
Location
White Plains, NY
Summary
Andrea Gomez Vesga helped evian, which was certified as carbon neutral in 2017, advance its carbon reduction plans in North America by creating a user-friendly carbon calculator to simplify incorporating sustainability criteria in business decisions.
Goals
evian earned certification as a carbon neutral brand in the U.S. and Canada from the Carbon Trust and is committed to become carbon neutral globally by 2020 in alignment with Danone’s COP 21 public commitment. EDF Climate Corps Fellow Gomez Vesga was enlisted to identify GHG emissions opportunities for the activities related to downstream logistics in the United States.
Solutions
Andrea designed a GHG reduction plan focusing on downstream activities related to warehouse storage and transportation from the US ports to warehouses and distribution centers.
- Andrea measured the carbon footprint of each of the company’s lane and carriers, improving data accuracy and enabling the local supply chain department to make greener decisions.
- She designed a calculator using EPA’s SmartWay carrier´s information, allowing sustainability criteria to be integrated into the decision-making process. This gives the logistics department the opportunity to quantify the environmental footprint and cost implications of their choices. • Based off the SmartWay rankings, Andrea performed a cost benefit analysis of the top performers and strategized ways to switch over to carriers with better environmental performance.
- Andrea’s analysis supported the company’s strategy to convert to intermodal freight transport – the use of two modes of freight, such as truck and rail, to transport products – when possible. For the lanes that are already starting to do so, she suggested converting to 100% intermodal. She also analyzed the environmental impact of opening a strategically located new warehouse that would replace trucks with trains.
- She leveraged various warehouse green initiatives that would be helpful in reducing the environmental impact of evian’s downstream categories, as part of the product’s life cycle analysis.
Potential Impact
Danone’s supply chain department plans to include Andrea’s recommendations in its sustainability roadmap. This pioneering program in Danone Waters of America is being shared for learnings throughout the company’s other business units.