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As companies deepen their sustainability strategies, the ability to manage shipping emissions has become a critical — and often complex — priority.

Transportation-related activities contribute to companies’ overall carbon footprints. Yet, despite growing sustainability pressures from regulators and stakeholders, organizations often struggle to accurately measure logistics emissions. Disconnected carrier systems, inconsistent data formats and delayed reporting make it difficult, if not impossible, to achieve a clear, trusted view.



But with connected logistics data integrated into daily operations, you can quickly identify carbon-intensive areas in your network, surfacing opportunities to make informed decisions that could lead to emissions reductions.

Shipping emissions are the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated during the transport of goods by trucks, planes, ships and other transportation modes. These emissions are measured in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e), which accounts for carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O).


While different businesses’ standards may vary, shipping emissions generally fall under Scope 3 — the category of indirect emissions produced across a company’s value chain, both upstream (e.g., supplier transport) and downstream (e.g., final product delivery).


Unlike Scope 1 emissions, which come from sources a company owns or controls, or Scope 2 emissions from purchased electricity or other energy, Scope 3 covers the third-party activities a company relies on but doesn’t operate directly.


For example, when a retailer ships goods using outside carriers, the resulting emissions are considered Scope 3. Because these emissions happen outside a company’s direct control, they can be harder to track and manage.

In many industries, transportation-related activities comprise a significant share of total Scope 3 emissions. But because shipping is often handled by third-party carriers, companies may lack direct access to the data they need to help them measure and possibly reduce those emissions effectively.



Common challenges fall into two categories:



Challenge No. 1: Shipping emissions data is difficult to access and standardize.


• Incomplete or inconsistent data

  Shippers usually don’t own emissions data tied to their shipments, and must assemble it from third-party sources. This data may come in inconsistent formats and may be based on estimates and assumptions when specific shipment details aren’t available. This makes it difficult for shippers to build a complete view of emissions across carriers, modes and regions.

  
  
• Delayed or outdated data

  Even when emissions data is accessible, it often becomes available only after the fact — limiting its impact on decision-making. Without timely, shipment-level data, businesses can struggle to monitor emissions in real time, forecast impacts or make strategic adjustments on the fly.

Challenge No. 2: Internal systems aren’t equipped for emissions tracking.


• Siloed data and limited integrations

  Shipping data is often scattered across various systems, from transportation management system (TMS) platforms to spreadsheets. Without integration into planning tools or reporting workflows, emissions insights remain disconnected from day-to-day decision-making.

  
  
• Manual workflows

  Many teams still rely on spreadsheets, static reports and ad hoc processes to calculate emissions and consolidate data across sources. These manual tasks can be time-consuming, error-prone and difficult to scale across regions or business units.

When emissions data is fragmented or outdated, even the most well-intentioned sustainability plans can fall short. This could limit progress toward reduction goals, increase the risk of regulatory noncompliance and make transparency more difficult at a time when stakeholders expect it.

Reducing shipping emissions starts with better shipping visibility  — specifically, access to shipment-level data across service levels, regions and modes. But visibility alone isn’t enough: The data must also be clear (standardized, complete) and connected (integrated into systems you already use).


In practice, clear, connected data can help teams calculate emissions by applying emissions factors to key shipment attributes such as mode, distance and service level. The data is gathered through automated, system-to-system integrations with TMS platforms, carrier APIs and digital platforms used by logistics providers.


With built-in validations and estimates to fill gaps, remove duplicates and standardize formats, this centralized data powers near-real-time insights that can help you: 

As sustainability pressures mount across industries, companies that lead will need to be able to plan proactively. With clear, timely insight into shipping emissions, organizations can make confident decisions that support efforts to reduce their carbon footprint while maintaining business as usual.

FedEx® Sustainability Insights (FSI) on fdx starts to put this visibility into action. FSI delivers centralized, estimated shipment-level emissions data for most FedEx shipments directly into your existing workflows, making it easier to monitor estimated emissions in near real time, align teams around shared goals and plan with confidence.

Ready to simplify your path to sustainability? Get in touch with FedEx to learn more.