This article was published in the July/August 2026 issue of Pet Food Processing. Read it and other articles from this issue in our July/August digital edition. 

Sustainability is becoming a structural necessity as energy-intensive supply chains account for a majority of the industry’s total carbon footprint. Operational and resource-driven transportation and logistics decisions include miles, modes, weights, load factors, warehousing decisions and carrier choices. Yet many organizations still lack visibility into the supply network and the associated costs of a product’s journey throughout the supply chain.

Looking at transportation efficiency and sustainability challenges through a complementary lens can allow an organization to consider strategies that offer the highest return opportunities with a reduction in emissions and operating costs that won’t compromise customer experience. 

Having close access to railway networks can help reduce the overall cost of distribution transportation. 

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The transportation team at Anchor Ingredients, Fargo, ND, constantly evaluates shipping lanes to identify opportunities for truck-to-rail conversion. Rail is significantly more fuel efficient than trucking and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 75% compared to long-haul truck transportation, according to an analysis by the Association of American Railroads, Washington, DC. 

“Transportation is an important piece of the sustainability puzzle,” said Allison Reser, director of Sustainability and Innovation, Pet Sustainability Coalition (PSC), Boulder, Colo. “At a large scale, trucking explains the largest amount of transportation emissions compared to other vehicles like air and rail.” 

Compound efforts

Transportation cannot be managed in isolation, and its impact will vary by product format, sourcing model, manufacturing footprint, distribution network and delivery expectations. One practical starting point is to benchmark current freight activity across modes: truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), parcel, ocean, rail and air. Also consider weight and distance, facility location, slope, acceleration, speed and the age of the vehicle.

Armed with this information, teams can look for opportunities to replace multiple less-than-truckload shipments with fuller truckloads. This can improve delivery density, reducing expedited shipments or selecting carriers with stronger fuel efficiency and emissions performance. Anchor Ingredients opened a multi-modal transload facility in Richmond, Ind., with main railway access via Norfolk Southern, allowing the company to position inventory closer to customers while taking advantage of rail transportation where possible.

Pet Food Experts, Pawtucket, RI, focuses on sustainable transportation with one core principle in mind: the most sustainable mile is the one you don’t have to drive. Lowering total miles traveled reduces carbon emissions, fuel consumption and operational costs. Investment in strategic routing and network optimization tools provide support at a high strategic level and in daily dispatch decisions. Cross-dock locations position route deliveries to shorten the final-mile delivery leg, reducing empty miles and offering load consolidation flexibility.

“With product staged closer to customers, we’re able to run more one-day routes out of box trucks instead of sending larger vehicles over longer distances,” said Andrey Legkiy, senior vice president of Operations, Pet Food Experts. “The cross-dock investment and fleet downsizing meaningfully reduce fuel consumption and emissions across the network.”

Create optimization

While green initiatives of fleet electrification and alternative fuels show promise, adoption remains dependent on infrastructure availability, equipment costs and operating requirements. Quick and measurable gains often come from network optimization and improved transportation planning by reducing unnecessary shipments, shortening average haul lengths, improving forecast accuracy and increasing trailer utilization.

One challenge that can arise is maintaining relationships with carriers that operate newer, more efficient fleets during periods of market volatility, which can increase transportation costs in the short term. When transportation markets tighten and tender rejections increase, shippers may need to renegotiate rates to secure reliable capacity from preferred carriers, said Jim Ritchie, president and chief executive officer, RedStone Logistics, Olathe, Kan.

Carriers that operate newer, fuel-efficient equipment, maintain strong preventative maintenance programs and fuel-saving driving practices generate lower emissions per shipment. Many companies also evaluate carriers based on sustainability metrics available through the SmartWay Transport Partnership, a collaboration between the EPA and the domestic freight industry.

“The most successful companies view sustainability as an operational efficiency rather than a standalone environmental program,” said Jim Ritchie, RedStone Logistics.

“The most successful companies view sustainability as an operational efficiency rather than a standalone environmental program,” Ritchie said. “The same strategies that reduce emissions often also lower transport spend.”

Tech enabled consolidation

Technology plays a critical role as more look to reduce empty miles and improve equipment utilization. Route optimization technologies can reduce total miles driven, improve delivery performance and increase driver productivity. Intermodal transportation decreases emissions on longer-haul lanes while lowering transportation costs compared to over-the-road truckload service. 

A transportation management system (TMS) integrated with enterprise resource planning (ERP) and warehouse management systems (WMS) allow better shipment planning and the ability to identify consolidation opportunities and optimize routing decisions. This can reduce freight costs on a per-unit basis while simultaneously reducing emissions. Pool distribution and multi-stop truckload shipments are also effective strategies. 

“It is unlikely consumers will directly evaluate a company’s transportation strategy, but they do expect brands to demonstrate responsible business practices,” Ritchie said. “Transportation departments are becoming more involved in sustainability discussions that were once limited to sourcing, packaging and manufacturing operations.” 

Data enhanced

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Balancing the trade-off of sustainability and environmental impact necessitates accurate, current data for decision-making. Data informs the optimization work many are already doing and can translate into smarter route decisions, clearer visibility into inefficiencies and more confidence when evaluating the impact of network changes.

eShipping, a transportation and logistics management company located in Parkville, Mo., offers a range of custom integrations options from simple data exchange to complex custom development. Its proprietary architecture supports the receiving and return of data through industry protocols from a variety of integration points.

Efficiencies such as improving mode selections (truckload, LTL, intermodal, parcel), consolidating shipments to increase trailer utilization, and balancing inbound and outbound flows can be quickly streamlined with AI to manage freight costs. Organizations use artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze millions of shipment records, lane movements, carrier performance metrics and demand patterns to identify opportunities that humans would struggle to detect. 

AI agents also coordinate across demand forecasting, procurement and logistics to address potential supply chain bottlenecks and reduce delays. But because many still struggle with how to integrate the rising amount of data generated, tech investments don’t always deliver the expected results in the desired timeframe.

For larger shippers, particularly those spending more than $5 million annually on transportation, technology alone is not enough. The greatest benefits come from combining technology with experienced transportation professionals who understand how to interpret data and execute strategic transportation decisions, Ritchie said. While these capabilities can sometimes be developed internally, organizations often benefit from partnering with managed transportation providers to fill the knowledge and resource gaps.

Highlight ‘invisible’ sustainability

Organizations must also understand that broad sustainability efforts don’t carry much weight anymore. Customers want data, transparency and evidence that sustainability efforts are driving real results. The most effective communication comes from showing real actions and measurable results rather than talking about aspirations, said Molly Kamrath, vice president of Business Transformation, Anchor Ingredients. 

“Customers want to understand the quantifiable impact of the decisions we’re making, whether that’s a transportation project, a sourcing initiative or a regenerative agriculture program,” said Molly Kamrath, Anchor Ingredients.

“Customers want to understand the quantifiable impact of the decisions we’re making, whether that’s a transportation project, a sourcing initiative or a regenerative agriculture program,” she continued. 

It also has the potential to expand how people think about sustainability. Younger consumers support recycling, sustainable packaging and animal welfare but remain skeptical of green claims and have low tolerance for higher prices supporting sustainability practices. A State of Sustainability in the Pet Industry survey found 84% of companion animal guardians hold companies responsible for addressing climate change. PSC member Phillips Pet Food and Supplies, Easton, Pa., has a packaging pledge to follow sustainable supply chain management, considering the full lifecycle of each product from material sourcing to distribution. The company also practices a pallet exchange program designed to reduce waste along with sustainable transportation initiatives to lower fuel consumption.

“Communication should make the sustainable option visible, understandable and easy to choose with simple messaging tied to a clear action or outcome,” Reser said. “Companies can offer or encourage slower, consolidated delivery options; communicate on why a fuller truck or less frequent shipment can be better for the environment; and make sustainable delivery the default where it does not compromise product quality or customer experience.”

Continued resilience and impact in sustainability messaging will rely on both visibility and action. This can include a focus on measurable progress such as emissions per unit shipped, percentage of freight moved with preferred carriers, reduction in miles, improvements in load fill, fewer expedited shipments, progress against a transportation emissions baseline and highlighting reverse logistics.

Other tactics include making messaging for retailers and supply chain partners more technical. Retailers want data that helps them understand Scope 3 emissions, supplier performance, freight efficiency and progress against shared sustainability goals. Supply chain partners need clear metrics, consistent expectations and ongoing communication.

Sustainability decisions prioritizing a balance of environmental goals with service performance and cost control will continue to have a wide reach. This offers the industry a path to meet goals of product freshness, delivery speed and retail service expectations as they also make logistics more efficient, more transparent and more collaborative across the full value chain.

“The key takeaway is that transportation efficiency and sustainability challenges are often the same problem viewed through a different lens,” Ritchie concluded. “Empty miles, poor routing, excess inventory, expedited shipments, underutilized trailers and network imbalances all create unnecessary cost and unnecessary emissions.”

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