Calculating, reporting and reducing greenhouse emissions in the Australian trucking industry: A case study of Rocky’s Own Transport Company

The transport sector is a key contributor to the global greenhouse gas emissions burden. However, understanding and accurately calculating emissions from transport activities is challenging due to the size and complexity of the sector. For example, the road freight industry alone comprises numerous different vehicle classes, trip types, driving and traffic situations, each of which can affect emissions across a range of pollutant categories such as gases, smoke and particulates. In Australia, accurate reporting of emissions in the road transport sector is essential for several reasons. The first is to ensure that accurate data are inputted into the national greenhouse accounts, since these may be used to inform low-carbon policy development in the sector. The second is to ensure that those corporations who are obligated to report emissions under NGERS (the National Greenhouse Emissions Reporting Scheme) are able to have confidence that these data adequately reflect their contribution to greenhouse gas pollution. The third and most compelling reason is that a detailed understanding of the key influences on emissions from road freight fleets will help identify opportunities for emissions reductions within the sector. This research project was undertaken at the request of the Rocky’s Own Transport Company (ROTC), a road-freight company headquartered in central Queensland. The project focussed on assisting ROTC to better understand, calculate, report and reduce their scope one emissions under NGERS.