Scania Annual Report 2011

46 SCANIA’S SUSTAINABILITY WORK
Key role for sustainable transport solutions
Efficient cargo transport and human mobility are fundamental for positive social development.
Scania is strongly committed to the task of building a transport system that will be
sustainable in the long term. The company plays a key role in this task together with its
customers, transport service buyers and other actors.
Scania’s vision is that the carbon dioxide emissions
related to the completion of a given transport task shall
be halved by 2020 compared to 2000. To achieve this
vision, Scania works with technological development,
driver training and streamlining of transport service
planning.
Scania also advocates forward-looking transport
policies and legislation that underpin the sustainable
development of transport systems.
Making passenger transport more efficient
In and around the world’s growing major cities, traffic
jams and limited accessibility are major problems that
require good public transport systems to resolve.
Safe, efficient and accessible public transport
systems help reduce environmental impact and simplify
daily life for everyone. Shifting passenger transport from
cars to buses in urban areas has major environmental
advantages by greatly reducing both congestion and
emissions. The use of renewable fuels can further lower
environmental impact.
Together with its partners, Scania helps develop
modern, efficient, attractive and environmentally optimised
bus systems. They consist of comfortable buses
that use dedicated lanes and enjoy priority over other
traffic. These bus systems provide good information
about routes and timetables. They allow boarding and
disembarkation at specially adapted station platforms.
Efficient bus systems are also a good way of creating
attractive, safe commuting options that passengers can
afford, thereby achieving greater mobility. This, in turn,
promotes both economic and social development.
Making goods transport service more efficient
A substantial increase in transport services can occur
with unchanged environmental impact if vehicles and
existing infrastructure are used more systematically.
Major environmental gains can be achieved by improving
logistics systems for goods transport.
Scania also supports allowing longer, more efficient
vehicle combinations. In this way, it would be possible
to increase the cargo capacity of each vehicle by 50
percent, thereby reducing environmental impact –
measured per tonne of goods transported – and also
reducing transport costs.
Less energy consumption, better road safety
Scania shall offer its customers vehicles with high safety
standards and the best possible operating economy
throughout the product life cycle.
Scania develops vehicles with the aim of avoiding
accidents and reducing injuries when accidents
nevertheless occur. The development of services and
products that help drivers make the right decisions is
another important component.
The driver plays a key role in reducing energy consumption
and environmental impact. Scania has
offered driver training to its customers for a long time.
By using a good driving style, drivers can reduce
their fuel consumption by around 10 percent, thereby
lowering transport costs.
There is also increased awareness that good environmental
performance reduces costs and strengthens a
haulage company’s profitability. Today the cost of fuel
accounts for about one third of a long-haulage company’s
transport costs in Europe and is also considerable
for other truck and bus companies. Continuously
reducing fuel consumption and emissions is thus a
central element of new product and service development
efforts.
A free choice between fuels
Biofuels are crucial for further reducing carbon dioxide
emissions from heavy vehicles. For Scania, biofuels that
meet agreed sustainability criteria are an important element
in efforts to reduce the impact of transport on the
climate. As the standards for reducing carbon dioxide
emissions become tougher and the price of fossil fuels
increases, both the supply and demand for renewable
fuels will rise. All Scania vehicles can run on biodiesel,
and Scania also supplies trucks and buses that are
specially adapted for bioethanol and biogas. All commercially
available biofuels can thus be used in Scania
vehicles.
Report of the directors Scania 2011