Focus on… Logistics UK’s Head of Decarbonisation, Lamech Solomon

Each of these aspects is very important because it is more than reducing emissions, but about ensuring that is done in a way that is viable for businesses.

As part of the Policy team, my work includes strategic engagement with government and stakeholders, liaising and meeting with members, attending events, representing members at forums and roundtables, contributing to reports and overseeing our responses to consultations. It is important that our members are informed and represented throughout this transition, so overall my role is to advocate for our members.

Something I have been focusing on is creating practical tools, to better equip members with the knowledge that they need in the transition. This is through producing resources such as policy briefings and hosting technical sessions across our member forums, such as the Logistics UK Environment Working Group or the Freight Energy Forum, because we want our members to have access to accurate and clear information – whether that is investing in low carbon fuels today or exploring battery electric or hydrogen technologies for the future.

Within the decarbonisation team, some of the issues we are working on include strengthening support for low carbon fuels, raising awareness of future energy demands of the sector as it electrifies, and highlighting challenges around grid and infrastructure restraints as well as regional planning and regulations.

With a huge proportion of UK greenhouse gas (GHG) emission savings to date having come from decarbonising power, transport is now the highest emitting sector  so there is a lot of pressure to bring about this change.

Of surface transport emissions, HGVs make up around 16% so it’s a huge challenge, but one that industry is rising to. Our sector is innovating and adapting, but there is no one size fits all and because of that, industry is having to handle different pressures compared to the personal use vehicle market.

Logistics businesses are trying to decarbonise while staying commercially competitive and maintaining their adaptive reliability and responding to increasing regulation. Operating with this added limited bandwidth is something I have been advocating for in government.

Despite these challenges, members have stressed the importance of capitalising on immediate opportunities to decarbonise. This is especially the case for low carbon fuels where tangible impacts can be made now.

There is also lots of work to be done around establishing and growing the second-hand market for electric vehicles. Many operators, and especially SMEs, rely on the second-hand market, and at the moment the total cost of ownership just does not add up for members to make the switch.

As well as decarbonising road logistics, we have been representing maritime members, and have responded to the government’s Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy which was published earlier this year, and have recently submitted a response to the decarbonising smaller vessels consultation.

Before I joined Logistics UK I was working in the Civil Service, leading the net zero strategy team in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (now Department for Energy Security and Net Zero) and was Head of Delivery for energy security.

One of the biggest surprises in entering the sector was discovering how innovative and committed the sector is to reducing emissions. Admittedly I had expected pushback but it’s clear that industry is doing everything it can – whilst needing public and private support to enable it to transition in a sustainable and commercially viable way. This is really evident at our site visits with members as it is such a pivotal time for this industry.

Looking ahead, we will shortly be publishing an industry position paper on low carbon fuels, setting out recommendations to government on how to maximise greenhouse gas  emission savings today whilst the battery electric market evolves, especially for the heaviest vehicles.

It is all about taking a pragmatic approach to the transition to electric vehicles. As we head into the autumn, we are holding our next Environment Working Group meeting and I’m looking forward to attending our Delivering Decarbonisation event.

Towards the end of the year we will also be publishing a road decarbonisation roadmap report – taking stock of the current market and what is needed to support SMEs, addressing energy procurement barriers and assessing the role of low carbon fuels to address gaps.

Moving forwards, I will also be looking to work more closely with our air, rail and maritime members to understand their concerns and work together.

If members in this space want to reach out – you can contact me here. This offer is open to all members as I am keen to engage and hear about firsthand experiences.

Related content: The Green Miles nine question decarbonisation challenge