Factors driving shippers' compliance with a voluntary sustainable freight programme in France

This paper explores the responses of French transport services' buyers to environmental initiatives, thereby contributing to understanding the impact of governmental sustainable freight policies, including the FRET21 programme launched in 2015 by the French government. Using a multiple case study design involving 10 pilot companies, the heterogeneous data collection (semi-structured interviews, access to internal documents, direct observations, programme participants brainstorming) has been carried out with the assistance of French transportation services purchasing managers from Carrefour, Coca-Cola, Saint-Gobain, Renault, Fleury Michon, Air Products, Henaff, Ferrero and Orrion. Our study reveals the voluntary participation of the companies to reduce their CO2 emissions related to their freight operations, regardless of company size or their sector of activity. Furthermore, the environmental sensitivity of the shippers stems more from an internal dynamic, be it supportive employees or top management, rather than the obligation to calculate their CO2 emissions. Although the FRET21 charter enhances substantially intra-and inter-organisational collaboration, especially between carriers, ADEME the French Environmental Protection Agency and shippers, environmental issues do not yet constitute a decisive criterion in carrier selection by shippers. This paper is original in its research area since very few studies in the existing literature explore the application of a sustainable freight transportation programme, scrutinising the successes and failures encountered in its application. Our study contributes to the green freight transportation field in two ways: by providing appropriate recommendations to help spread the sustainable freight programme to other shippers in France, but also by providing public and private entities worldwide with managerial insights and relevant guidance to influence shippers' responsiveness in the direction of sustainable freight. The study also stresses the need of having transparent tools and a standard method to measure freight CO2 emissions, thereby supporting shippers in their sustainable freight endeavours. Superscript/Subscript Available

Automated summary

This study examines the responses of French transport services’ buyers to environmental initiatives and reveals the voluntary participation of companies in reducing CO2 emissions in their freight operations. It highlights the importance of transparent tools and standard methods for measuring freight CO2 emissions to support sustainable freight endeavors.