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Welcome to the REff Tool®, the GHG assessment Tool for logistics sites!

How resource efficient are the services at your warehouses, transhipment sites or distribution centres?

Carbon footprinting is regarded as one means of enhancing transparency on where greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are produced within a transport chain and, thus, limiting the emissions and improving the efficiency of transport and transhipment, on both the demand and supply sides of the market. In order to meet global GHG reduction targets and to realize sustainable transport chains, standardization of emissions calculation is progressing swiftly. Since March 2023, we have a new ISO standard 14083 regarding the quantification and reporting of GHG emissions arising from transport chain operations, replacing EN 16258. We are happy that logistics sites are covered by the scope of this new ISO standard.

REff Tool®

The present REff Tool® - with its second version - is the result of a number of interlinked projects and activities in close cooperation with and the support of various partners: e.g. the German R&D projects Green Logistics and GILA, LEARN project (co-funded by the EU), the Global Logistics Emissions Council GLEC, EcoTransIT World, Sustainable Performance Monitor, GreenRouter and others.

The cooperation of these partners aims at

  • Providing business a tool that measures and monitors the resource consumption and emissions efficiency at logistics sites,
  • Monitoring resource efficiency and developing further KPIs in the storage and transhipment sector.
  • Implementing latest internationally accepted methods and standards, such as ISO 14083.

The REff Tool® provides the possibility for data input to enable GHG emissions calculation with focus on logistics sites, such as warehouses, distribution centres, transhipment sites and various terminals. It also covers modules for calculating GHG emissions and reporting calculation results.

Users of the REff Tool® receive

  • A guided tour through the data collection for preparing the calculation of GHG emissions of one or more sites
  • Site type specific input data sheets covering both mandatory and optional data
  • The calculated annual carbon footprint per site, e.g. [tonnes CO₂e/year]
  • Average emission intensity values per site, e.g. [kg CO₂e/tonne]
  • Possibility to monitor the companys resource efficiency over the years.

Introduction video (YouTube)

For requesting an individual account or to receive further information, please contact us at contact-reff[at]iml.fraunhofer.de.

Request access to the REff tool (via mail)

Annual market studies

For better understanding the environmental performance of logistics hubs and to overcome existing data gaps on operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Fraunhofer IML together with its GILA partners Politecnico di Milano, GreenRouter and Universidad de los Andes organize annual market studies on “Energy efficiency and GHG emission intensity of logistics sites”.

Results of the market studies, jointly performed between 2021 and 2023, have been presented on October 12th, 2023. The webinar slides can be downloaded here.

The data collection for the annual market studies are from February to May. The provided primary data from industry is, then, reviewed and analysed.

For participating in future market studies, please, contact us at contact-reff@iml.fraunhofer.de and you receive an individual account. Existing REff Tool® users can participate with their regular account.

Provided data is treated strictly confidential. All data at the individual site level obtained through this tool will be anonymised. Under no circumstances will the identifiers be made available to individuals.

Average emission intensity values for logistics hubs

Together with its partners, Fraunhofer IML has elaborated a first set of average emission intensity values for logistics sites. These base on our jointly performed market studies on “Energy efficiency and GHG emission intensity of logistics sites” (see above).

We continuously work on this topic and plan to update these values in the future. You can download further information and values here.

Methodology

The underlying methodology is described in the "Guide for GHG emissions accounting at logistics hubs" (version 2.0, 2023), which can be downloaded here.

The REff Tool® is accredited by Smart Freight Centre to provide calculations of greenhouse gas emissions for freight and logistics operations that are in methodological conformance with the GLEC Framework (accreditation statement).

FAQ

We have elaborated some guidance as FAQs for main functions of the tool. If you miss anything, please send us an email. The FAQs will be continuously updated.