Decarbonization targets and practices in European transport and logistics: an exploratory analysis of corporate sustainability disclosures

Climate change, driven by greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), is a global emergency. The year 2024 has been recorded as the first year with an average temperature exceeding 1.5°C above the pre-industrial level, which is the threshold established by the Paris Agreement. The European Union (EU) is leading the global effort to address this challenge by implementing an ambitious plan to mitigate the risks and impacts of climate change and setting a midterm target to reduce its GHG emissions by at least 55% by 2030 and a net-zero-emission target for 2050. Crucial to achieve these goals is the decarbonization of the transport sector, which accounts for over 25% of EU GHG emissions. This paper investigates how leading transport and logistics companies in the European market are responding to stakeholders and regulatory pressures to reduce their emissions, based on a detailed content analysis of their sustainability disclosures. It first analyzes whether these companies view emissions reduction as a material issue and then reviews their decarbonization strategies to identify emissions targets and decarbonization practices. Preliminary findings show that all the sampled companies consider climate change and emissions reduction as a material issue and provide mid-term emissions targets and carbon neutrality targets. Sustainable fuels and fleet electrification are key decarbonization practices, but few companies disclose the investments and operating expenses required for their implementation. These results enhance the understanding of ongoing decarbonization efforts within the sector and can inform the development of sector-specific sustainability reporting standards.