EVALUATING THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF ENERGY USE IN ROAD FREIGHT TRUCKING SYSTEMS: A CASE STUDY OF M.E. TRANS COMPANY LIMITED

Abstract

Climate change is a significant factor impacting the environment and the sustainability of countries worldwide. Climate change is one of the most crucial issues of our time, and the transportation industry plays a vital role in generating carbon dioxide (CO₂), which is a part of greenhouse gases (GHGs) that directly affect climate change. There is an awareness of the need to assess the carbon footprint of energy use in land freight transportation using trucks. Therefore, this research focuses on calculating GHG emissions using the greenhouse gas emission coefficient in units of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂eq), following the guidelines of the Greenhouse Gas Management Organization (TGO). The objective is to study the energy data of land freight transportation activities by land freight operators using trucks and to evaluate the carbon footprint of energy use in the freight transportation system. Annual data collection from freight operators transporting goods to the southern provinces of Thailand was conducted. The research studied energy data from land freight operators' land freight transportation activities, including the quantity and destination provinces of the transportation routes per year. The transportation of goods originates from Samut Prakan province has transported to Songkhla province, with an average distance of 991.9 kilometers by large six-wheel trucks with a maximum load of 11 tons. The vehicles have consumed some diesel fuel, From the data recorded on the full truckload and empty running This makes the annual carbon dioxide emissions equal to 3,255.42 kgCO₂eq/year and in the case of using large 10-wheel trucks the average maximum load weight is 16 tons. Using diesel as fuel emits carbon dioxide. It was found that when loading goods on the return trip, it was a 100% empty trip. There would be an amount of carbon dioxide released from the transportation of goods, with the use of vehicle fuel for transport by the operator equal to 7,275.59 kgCO₂eq / year. For these reasons, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, truck management methods using alternative fuels, biodiesel or other clean energy sources have lower emissions compared with diesel or gasoline, improving engine technology of renewable energy sources can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of cargo transportation, and adopting electric vehicles (EV) to provide services.