Transport and logistics

As Lenzing implemented its decarbonization strategy, the company shifted the transportation of some inbound materials from road to rail transport and shipping to improve its CO₂ footprint. This means that the transportation of sulfur purchased from one supplier was shifted from road to rail, with a volume of approximately 400 tons starting in November 2020 and approximately 15,000 tons per year in the following years.

Lenzing’s wood logistics system moves large quantities of material and is therefore highly cost-optimized. Continuous improvement in this area also minimizes emissions from logistics by favoring train transport wherever possible.

Ship to Zero campaign – carbon neutral shipping

Lenzing piloted carbon neutral shipping in October 2021, collaborating with Good shipping during COP26. The joint goal of several companies was to achieve a 4,000 tons CO₂ reduction, equivalent to a journey from Rotterdam to Glasgow by ship. Lenzing’s contribution involved reducing 50 tons of CO₂.

High Performer Award from the EPA Smart-Way^® Transport Partnership²⁹

This award was given for the second time to the site in Mobile (US). SmartWay Partners submit efficiency and air quality performance data to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) annually. EPA aggregates and divides the data into five ranked performance ranges. SmartWay High Performers are partners whose efficiency and/or air quality performance falls within the top-ranked performance range. Around five percent of the participating shippers (Lenzing’s site in Mobile is categorized as a shipper) are designated as High Performers.

New software for Wood Purchasing ensures greater transparency and facilitates logistic process

There are many process steps between the felling of a tree to the delivery of wood to the plant in Lenzing (Austria). The wood must be labeled, its traceability along the entire supply chain must be ensured, and around 80 rail wagons and 80 trucks must be directed to Lenzing’s site every day. All this requires an elaborate Europe-wide logistics process and special software that guarantees the smooth flow of information between the individual stations.

In order to make contract management, wood trading and purchasing, logistics and control simple and transparent, the decision was made to switch to a new special software system. In 2019, the first milestone was reached with the implementation of electronic bill delivery.

Another very important milestone will be contract management, which will have its “go-live” in March 2022. This involves the electronic creation of contracts, including electronic approval and signature, as well as the associated document management. This milestone will make future work much easier and more transparent, and is an important step towards a paperless office for the wood purchasing department.