Methodological Proposal for Recognition Systems in Sustainable Freight Transport

Establishing a recognition system for sustainable freight transport is a process of change that requires the commitment of those involved and application of good practices. The pressures from consumers and competitors do not allow greater engagement with economic, social, and environmental aspects, and the maintenance stages require a long-term effort to obtain credibility, because the participation of external members of society in the evaluation contributes to reduce the influences and uncertainties of the recognition criterion. In light of the difficulties of establishing a green supply chain, we propose a method with multiple approaches with an emphasis on fuzzy logic. The purpose is to reduce the indecision of judgment, to debug the qualitative variables and to reduce interference from competitors. The procedure was applied to six companies that have carbon reduction programs, but we found that firms with a core business in transport had greater success in the transition to low carbon operations than contractors or shippers. The certification levels allowed visual contact between consumers and the company, making it possible to monitor sustainability actions in freight transportation operations and the competitiveness to achieve higher labeling levels.