Logistics Podcast: Das Gleiche in Grün?! Season 3

Today we are literally taking to the skies in "Das Gleiche in Grün?!" It is probably well known that air freight accounts for a significant proportion of logistics GHG emissions with comparatively low freight volumes. In other words: very high emissions per tonne-kilometer. And: the technical and organizational possibilities for the rapid and comprehensive decarbonization of air freight are limited. Timo and Moritz asked Fabiano Piccinno what can be done today and how the situation will develop over the next few years. Fabiano works as Global Head of Sustainability Air Logistics at Kuehne + Nagel. Timo and Moritz had a lot of questions (as usual):

• Which goods are primarily flown and why?
• What organizational and technological options exist for decarbonizing air freight?
• What is SAF and how can it contribute to decarbonization?
• If freight and people are traveling together: how do you actually allocate the resulting emissions?
• What can air freight learn from rail freight transport?
• What impact will the new D2C shopping platforms have on the air freight market?
• And also: how does a chemist with a doctorate actually end up in logistics?

Clothing rental models: what has worked successfully for workwear for a long time does not seem feasible in the private sector. Or does it? Today, Timo and Moritz take a closer look at the topic with Anne Voigt from MINILOOP. As fathers, they know a population group that constantly needs new clothes: Very young children. Really good clothes are often very expensive and two months later they are already too small. So why not share instead of buying? This is exactly what MINILOOP offers. Spurred on by their own experiences, Timo and Moritz have lots of questions for Anne:

• Why did Anne found MINILOOP and how is the model being received by families?
• What exactly does MINILOOP do? How do the processes behind the service work? And why is sharing better for everyone than reselling via the well-known second-hand platforms?
• What are the advantages of high-quality materials such as merino wool? Why do the logistical issues cause so many headaches?
• How can the circular economy for textiles be further promoted? Does the MINILOOP model also work for adults? As a MAXILOOP, so to speak?

Human rights violations? We only know that in logistics and transportation from stories! From construction sites in Qatar and so on. Or do we? What are human rights anyway? To find out, Timo and Moritz talk to Irene Knoke from the SÜDWIND Institute in the latest episode of "Das Gleiche in Grün?!” Irene and her colleagues have published a study on the topic: a welcome, external look at a systemic problem that, just like other sustainability problems, cannot be solved by looking away.

• What did SÜDWIND originally focus on and how can the external perspective on the logistics industry help?
• What do human rights risks in transportation have to do with the Supply Chain Act?
• What human rights risks exist in an ideal- typical supply chain?
• Which instruments can help to identify and address human rights violations?

Focusing on people - Timo and Moritz talk about this corporate mission statement in today's episode of "Das Gleiche in Grün?!" with Christina Thurner from LOXXESS. The company specializes in complex warehouse logistics and fulfillment services and has grown significantly in recent years. Finding the right staff and retaining them in the long term is therefore l to success, isn't it? Timo and Moritz have many questions for Christina, who also works on the attractiveness of logistics in industry initiatives beyond her entrepreneurial activities at LOXXESS:

• How does LOXXESS face the challenges in recruiting? What role do working conditions play in the operational areas?How is LOXXESS introducing new technologies such as exoskeletons into the work process?
• Do family businesses have a better chance of recruiting staff than large corporations?
• How can rigid shift work be made more flexible? What role does technology play in this? And what does Christina think of the idea of a four-day week?
• What needs to happen to make logistics more attractive for female managers? What about the attractiveness of the industry as a whole? Is logistics known widely enough?

Today it's all about "Das Gleiche in Grün", as Timo and Moritz talk to Frank Seeger about tires. The startup CO2OPT has set out to support fleet operators in selecting the right tires. Because unlike passenger car tires, truck tires have to be replaced frequently and should then be selected according to the usage profile. After all, Frank says, you wouldn't climb the Matterhorn in flip-flops. Timo and Moritz prefer to stay on the ground anyway, which is why today's episode deals with the following questions, among others:

• Why did Frank take the plunge and founded CO2OPT after a long and successful career at Continental?
• What does CO2OPT offer fleet operators?
• How does tire management work today and how can the right tire reduce fuel costs and CO2 emissions?
• How can transparency be created in the commercial vehicle tire market, which has been quite difficult to understand up to now?
• Is the reconditioning of tires a suitable lever for conserving resources and reducing CO2 emissions?
• Where will CO2OPT be heading in the future?

In this special episode of " Das Gleiche in Grün ", Kerstin Dobers from Fraunhofer IML talks to Timo and Andreas about research into sustainability in logistics, and intralogistics in particular. The focus is on the GILA research project, which Kerstin led. An international research project that aims to identify best practices and analyses of future requirements, services and concepts for sustainable logistics centers within an energy- and resource-efficient transport chain and to define a methodological framework for the detailed description of the environmental performance of logistics centers.

• What is the GILA project and what are the experiences and results of this work?
• What data is needed to evaluate sustainability at a logistics location? And how do you actually measure and collect this data at different locations (distribution centers, MFCs, hubs, etc.)? How do you create comparability?
• How can and should a company define data measurement and data collection points and what approach or strategy is advisable to start with?
• Which measures in terms of best practices have the greatest impact when it comes to reducing environmental impact?
• What is a sustainable logistics location?
• What is ISO 14083 and where will it help logistics?
• What is the REff tool (Resource Efficiency at Logistics Sites) and how have the results of the GILA study been incorporated into it?

In this episode of " Das Gleiche in Grün ", Lutz Fricke from Mosolf talks to Timo and Moritz about the company's sustainability activities and the challenges of initiating and leading a transformation in the logistics industry. The conversation highlights the importance of effective communication, engagement and leading by example to drive sustainable change. Lutz emphasizes the need to listen to employees and address their fears and concerns.

Lutz shares many lessons learned in this episode that can help other sustainability leaders transform their organizations:

• Effective communication and engagement are critical to driving sustainable change in an organization. Exemplary behavior and personal transformation can inspire and motivate others to embrace sustainability.
• Setting clear and measurable goals is essential to track progress and take action. Navigating uncertainty and addressing resistance to change are key challenges in the transformation process.
• Data is crucial to quantify and improve sustainability targets. Measuring certain aspects of sustainability, such as employee wellbeing, can be challenging but important.
• Getting started with sustainability requires dedicated resources and a long-term roadmap. Investments in sustainability can be made through dedicated funds to bridge the gap between sustainable and cost-effective options.

Many have tried to rethink the last mile. Few have succeeded. In Felix Dossmann, the founder of Grünfuchs, Timo and Moritz have invited someone for today's episode who has at least come a long way in the attempt. The idea behind Grünfuchs is simple: goods that are already in a city do not have to be transported into it again. Felix has knitted a wide range of offers around this idea that reduce transport emissions, create decent jobs, make city centers more competitive and, last but not least, increase participation and access for individual population groups. Sounds almost too good to be true, doesn't it? It seems to be working in Göttingen. Today's episode deals with the following questions, among others:

• What exactly does Grünfuchs do on the last mile and what sets them apart from the big CEP service providers?
• How do local retailers in particular benefit from Grünfuchs and what is a Monopoly emergency?
• Why was the lack of suitable logistics space the biggest difficulty in setting up the company and how are things going today?
• Which customer group makes the most use of the services of Grünfuchs? Which products are most frequently transported?
• What are the next steps? Could similar models even be replicated in other cities as a local retail cooperative?

Planting trees (or have them planted) to offset your own greenhouse gas emissions. Sounds so simple, but it's incredibly complicated. At least if you want to do it right. Because there are many things to consider for successful reforestation. That's why Timo and Moritz sat down with Julian Kakarott for today's episode. Julian is the CEO of the Hamburg-based start-up CarbonStack and works intensively on environmental modeling, reforestation and offsetting emissions.

Today's episode deals with the following questions, among others:

• How does voluntary carbon offsetting work: more like the Wild West or a strictly regulated market?
• What are the benefits of reforestation and why is CarbonStack involved in German forests? What needs to be considered for successful long-term reforestation?
• How can the bound CO2 actually be detected?
• How do companies that are willing to offset avoid accusations of greenwashing? What to look out for when offsetting?

More rail transport protects the environment and the climate. That is the truism. And especially in freight transport, the train is unbeatable in terms of sustainability. So it's only logical that the sustainable logistician in all of us wants and needs to put more goods on the rails. Or is it?

In this episode, Moritz and Timo talked to Dominik Fürste from Rail-flow about the current situation of freight transport by rail. Rail-flow is a Frankfurt-based start-up that has set out to improve cooperation in rail freight transport and, above all, to make access to it easier on both the supplier and the demand side.

The questions are as follows:

• What does the market actually look like on the supplier side for rail?
• How does the intermodal business work? And what does the development of this market look like?
• What are the infrastructural challenges? And what can (must) we expect in the coming years?
• Where does rail make sense economically? And what political decisions need to be taken to ensure that rail is used more intensively?

In recent decades, logistics buildings with a total roof area of 50 million square metres have been built in Germany. Of this, around 30 million square metres are theoretically suitable for the installation of photovoltaic systems. So far, however, only a fraction of this potential has been used. On the roofs of new logistics buildings built between 2012 and 2022 alone, up to 2.5 terawatt hours of solar power could be generated and fed into the public grid. This corresponds to the annual electricity demand of around 800,000 households.

Why is this potential not (yet) being used? Moritz and Timo talked to Marcus Wieser from the Geis Group and Matthias Karger from node.energy about exactly this.

The following questions were addressed:

• What are the challenges for logistics companies when it comes to photovoltaics?
• How should such a project be set up internally? What needs to be considered?
• Where are the bureaucratic hurdles? Where are the regulatory hurdles?
• How can software help?
• What additional business models can be created here?

In the finale of the second season, we take you to the retail trade. Timo and Moritz have arranged to meet Florian Cebulla, Head of Corporate Responsibility Circular Systems at the Schwarz Group, in front of the virtual shelf. Most people probably know the Schwarz Group primarily through the retailers Lidl and Kaufland. However, business units for manufacturing and disposal/recycling are also part of the group. So, full circle? Today's episode is about the following questions, among others:

• What issues surrounding closed-loop systems are currently driving Florian and the retail industry as a whole?
• Where does Florian see the limits for circular efforts today? Is a company's high level of vertical integration the most important success factor for circular systems?
• What's actually behind the circular bottle (you know: the one from the campaign with Günther Jauch)?
• What role does retail play in curbing food waste?

Just about everyone knows this. Ordered online, goods received and then off into the garbage can with the shipping boxes and packaging. 4.5 billion shipments per year in Germany result in around 50 kg of waste per second. And for 2026, the German Parcel and Express Logistics Association (BIEK) forecasts around 5.7 billion shipments. So what to do?

Moritz and Timo talked to Dominik Moers from Hey Circle, a young start-up from Munich that offers reusable shipping packaging. Admittedly, this is not an entirely new topic. In the age of the European Green Deal, the Circular Economy and packaging laws, the time seems ripe for reusable systems, especially for online retail.

The issues at stake are as follows:

• According to Hey Circle (deposit system), how should customer acceptance be achieved so that shipping boxes and bags are actually returned?
• When does the benefit arise in terms of CO2 emissions compared to the conventional shipping box? How often do the boxes have to circulate?
• For which articles / industries are such reusable systems already interesting today? And which developments is Hey Circle aiming at?
• Who is Hey Circle's customer today? And who can become it in the future?
• What is the circulation model between Hey Circle and its customers (repair, exchange, etc.)?

Battery electric, fuel cell, eFuel, HVO, hydrogen - you don't really know what you're talking about? As a podcast with a teaching mission, we offer help! In today's episode, Timo and Moritz talk to Urs Maier and Ulf Neuling from Agora Verkehrswende - an independent think tank based in Berlin - about the decarbonization of freight transport. Among other things, it's about the following questions:

• How do we decarbonize the more than 3 million existing trucks of various sizes?
• What is the potential of bio-based fuels?
• Where are the regulatory bottlenecks in the decarbonization of freight transport?
• How important is technology openness? And how is it different from technology neutrality?
• What does an effective charging infrastructure for trucks look like?
• What are the prospects for decarbonizing international air and sea transport?

Hydrogen - is the colorless gas a real alternative for truck transport? Timo and Moritz discuss this question with André Steinau from GP Joule. This company doesn’t mean anything to you? Then you should listen in. The slogan "We do the whole energy transition" is true: André explains the H2 value chain from start to finish. In the new episode of "The same in green?!" the following questions, among others, are addressed:

• How is hydrogen produced and why do people so often talk about colors, despite H2 being colorless?
• What role can hydrogen play as a buffer in the national energy mix?
• Why does hydrogen fit in with truck traffic? And where are the limits?
• What does GP Joule offer logistics companies?

All beginnings are difficult - does this also apply to the topic of sustainability? Timo and Moritz invited an expert on this topic: Andrea Goeman is an authority in the context of more sustainable logistics, but is now starting from scratch at JAS Worldwide and building up a new division as SVP Sustainability. In the new episode of "The same in green?!", the following questions, among others, are addressed:

• Where do you start? Which legal frameworks play a role for global LDL?
• How do you permanently implement sustainability aspects in a large and diverse organization?
• How do you move from strategic goals to measurable results?
• What are Andrea's TOP tips for new sustainability leaders?
• And how would Andrea invest ten million euros for more sustainable logistics?

Sustainability managers in logistics (but also beyond) often spend a lot of time tapping into hard-to-access data lakes and consolidating their content in Excel spreadsheets. In issue #15 of "The same in green?!" (Das Gleiche in Grün), Yvonne Bonventre from BLG and Yvonne Bonventre from BLG and Tobias Bohnhoff from shipzero tell us how this can be done differently. With the shipzero solution, BLG collects and utilizes all CO2-relevant data – even sub-service providers are integrated via shipzero as a "trusted third party". Timo and Moritz also discussed other exciting questions with Yvonne and Tobias:

• How costly is the collection and processing of CO2-relevant data really?
• What is primary data and why is it preferable?
• What does BLG use the reports from shipzero for?
• How does the collaboration between startup and big companies or groups work?
• Why do so many sustainability managers in logistics not come from logistics?
• How would Yvonne, Tobias and Timo invest 10 million euros for more sustainable logistics?

For weeks now, we've heard a lot about e-fuels - whether we wanted to or not. Today on "Das Gleich in Grün?!” we're talking about a "b-fuel": Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO). Timo and Moritz are interested: what is it, where can you fill up with it, and does HVO really help curb climate change? We talked about this and other topics with Moritz Toelke of Sovereign Speed, who, after a stint at the climate NGO Smart Freight Centre, is now responsible for the sustainability of a logistics service provider himself. Spoiler: unlike the hotly debated e-fuels, HVO is already available today in larger quantities - although not yet (!) in Germany.

• How do you build the sustainability strategy of a logistics service provider?
• What adjustments can be made in the short term to reduce emissions?
• What is HVO and how does Sovereign Speed use HVO?
• How hard is the landing in operational reality after working for an NGO?
• What do we need to finally get the horsepower on the road in decarbonization: Technological solutions, incentives, bans? All at the same time?

Sounds interesting? It is. So tune in quickly!

Today we have a packed show. And on several meta levels. On the one hand, “Das Gleiche in Grün” is about packaging. And on the other hand, Moritz and Timo have invited two experts. Michael von Kaptura and Peter von Packsize have visited the two investigative Wallraffs of the podcast scene in the virtual studio to talk about avoiding air in the context of packaging. To do so, they dive into the depths of intralogistics, taking on the challenges of the last mile right along with them.

• What does customized and sustainable packaging look like?
• How important is master data?
• How much CO2 can be reduced by avoiding air and packaging materials?
• And what impact does this have on the load?

Today we dare to look beyond the national horizon, because decarbonization of freight transport is a global challenge. For this endeavor, Timo and Moritz have invited Friedel Sehlleier. For GIZ (Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit), Friedel implements freight transport projects in Thailand or India, for example. And there, the focus is sometimes on completely different topics than here in Germany: Battery Swapping for Trucks or Trucking as a Service are just two keywords.

• What do you do as a project manager at GIZ? • What exactly is GIZ and how do international decarbonization projects work?
• How do we deal with the high growth rates in freight transport volumes that are forecast internationally?
• What levers for decarbonization exist and how effective are they?
• Who is actually responsible for improving freight transport in GIZ's target countries? Hit play and enjoy!

with Helen Tacke from cozero They are back! The two tie bears* have crawled out of their winter cave. Rested, rested, but no less investigative, the dynamic duo is still on their mission to merge sustainability and logistics. Season 2 will again offer everything that made season 1 so special. Only just hollywood-technically more emotional, funnier, more enlightening, simply bigger. In the first episode, Timo and Moritz met with Helen Tacke from cozero in her virtual studio, a young start-up from Berlin, which sees itself as a software company and is committed to supporting the corporate sector in the transition to a lower-emission economy.

• What are the challenges in determining carbon footprints?
• What is a ROCI? And why is it needed?
• Why is transparency so important and at the same time so difficult to achieve?
• How do you deal with white spots on the emissions map?
• And how does the cozero magic module work? And why is it actually called something else? Instructions: Go to the "Play" button with the mouse and press the left mouse button. Sit back, relax and listen to the episode.

*Tie-dye bear (ursus sonekrawatte) is a lovable predatory species from the bear family that would like to see a little more sustainability in logistics.

Finaaaaalee! Finale? Yes, season finale of "DGIG?!". Fitting, isn’t it? After all, Germany is the world champion... isn't it? At least in the area of returns, the numbers speak for themselves: every fourth online order is completely or partially returned. That's about 40 items every second! Wow. Circular economy, but completely misunderstood. And what actually happens to the returns? Timo and Moritz talk about this with Petra Olah and Alexander Lange from BuyBay. And they also reveal, what happens next with DGIG?!

• Why are packages going back and what does that mean for e-commerce companies?
• Why is the volume of returns in Germany so high?
• How do you process returned goods and how do you resell them?
• Why is Amazon only suitable for flawless products, while anything goes on eBay?
• And: What's next for DGIG?

ETS, IMO and CII... What sounds like the beginning of a rap song from the 90s is now setting the tone for more sustainability in international shipping. Timo and Moritz talk today with Friederike Hesse, Co-Founder and Managing Director of zero44, about how exactly and what the abbreviations actually mean.

• What exactly does zero44 do and why did Friederike choose the shipping industry to start a business?
• What does the shipping market actually look like and which participants are there?
• What are CII and ETS and how do these regulations affect the value of ships?
• How do you establish transparency on emissions? And what impact will this factor have on operations in the future?

How can one manage the sustainability activities of a logistics service provider that offers almost everything from last-mile delivery to bulk logistics? And as a sustainability expert, isn't one working towards the abolition of one's own job? Timo and Moritz discuss these and many other exciting topics with Isa Kohn, Head of Sustainability at Rhenus, in the new episode of this podcast series.

• How do you set up a management unit for sustainability? And how do you take the very different business units along with you?
• How do you determine which areas to invest in first?
• Where does the transformation work well? Where is sustainability more difficult to address?
• How do you stay on top of a broad and dynamic issue like sustainability?
• When will truly sustainable business become the new business-as-usual?

In the event of a disaster, fast help is needed - well-prepared humanitarian logistics is key. But things don't always work out smoothly. Jonas Stumpf and his team from HELP Logistics train international aid organizations such as the World Food Program or the UN Refugee Agency so that they can provide aid more efficiently... and also more sustainably! Because sustainability is also rapidly gaining importance in humanitarian logistics.

• What exactly is humanitarian logistics? What does a crisis operation look like in practice?
• How does climate change affect the humanitarian sector?
• What are the levers to reduce the sector's footprint without compromising its performance?
• Is local sourcing a viable option for humanitarian organizations?
• And why can every euro spent before disaster save seven euros when disaster strikes? Timo and Moritz say, "An episode with a special angle on the relevance of logistics. 100/100 points." Well, tune in quickly!

The human being in the context of the family. What is true in one's own four walls is also mostly true in the classic family businesses of the republic. Value-driven visions and missions that (mostly) go beyond the exclusively monetary. Timo and Andreas talked to Mark from Zufall Logistik about his own personal development, in particular how becoming and being a father has changed his view of the world. And moreover, what such values and, accordingly, sustainability have meant, mean and will mean for a family business. A short exciting outline from the center of the logistics middle class in family hands.

• How can a family business act sustainably?
• How can visions be designed to connect with people?
• How does the recruitment process change?
• Are you looking for specialists or do you want to be found?
• Is it okay to choose customers?

Just press play, sit back, listen and be inspired.

More information:

• LinkedIn-Profil and Webprofil Prof. Moritz Petersen
• LinkedIn-Profil Timo Landener
• Irgendwas mit Logistik