The Line-Up for TIACA’s Sustainability Awards

It seems like only yesterday, that CFG witnessed the winners of the first ever TIACA Sustainability Awards receive their trophies aboard a ship on the Danube in Budapest in NOV19, and yet
here we are, a whole year later, ready for the second event. TIACA announced this year’s finalists on 05NOV20, and it promises to be close run.

Chris McDermott, CEO of CHAMP Cargosystems who are again sponsoring TIACA’s Air Cargo Sustainability Awards, had this to say: “For the second consecutive year we, at CHAMP Cargosystems, are
proud to be the exclusive sponsors of these Sustainability Awards, and to support the excellent work of our strategic partners, TIACA, in promoting the importance of sustainability in the air
cargo industry. In these extraordinary times, embracing digitalization and innovative technologies is more crucial than ever to help companies create a more sustainable future for themselves and
for the generations to come. We are extremely fortunate this year to have such a strong range of candidates to choose from, with great ideas from both corporations and start-ups. I would like to
thank all of the companies taking part for their commitment to helping create a more sustainable air cargo industry in the future.”

23 very varied companies answered the online call for applications this year, sending in their applications by 30SEP20. Two categories form this year’s competition: The Corporate category is open
to established companies focused on developing sustainability within air cargo, whilst new and fast-growing small businesses with sustainable ideas can enter the Start-up category.

The Corporate Candidates
Jettainer, Pelican BioThermal, and VRR have been short-listed in the Corporate category. All three are involved in ULDs.

On LinkedIn, Jettainer shared its delight in the “great recognition” of being chosen as a finalist, with its “skypooling ULD asset sharing platform and as such a key
driver for increased sustainability of the air cargo and baggage transport industry. ULDs (unit load devices) are fundamental to air cargo. Containers and pallets come in all shapes for maximal
space utilization. Which means the right ULDs are always needed in the right place and time, so airlines hoard ULDs or transport the right ULDs empty (!) from the wrong place. Here is where
skypooling helps: avoid deadhead moves, save CO2 and make better use of capacities.”

Who will it be this year? Image: CFG/Gledhill
Who will it be this year? Image: CFG/Gledhill

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In fact, through the 50+ international airlines and 280 airports using skypooling to share, trade, borrow and lend ULDs, up to 100,000 tons of CO2 can be saved each year.

Pelican BioThermal, the second finalist, put forward its develops CrēdoTM reusable packaging solutions – “durable, reusable shipping containers made from
recyclable components”
which save both money and limit negative environmental impact when it comes to thermal supply chains. Through the CrēdoTM series, “the manufacturing [on demand] and use of durable, reusable temperature-controlled packaging made with vacuum-insulated panel (VIP) insulation and phase change material (PCM)” saves on wastage caused by single-use plastic
containers and equipment.

VRR has entered a world premier: its Air7 which is the world’s first foldable ULD and solves the problem of returning empty containers by air. Often capacities
are limited and sending back empty containers is costly and problematic – both from a space and from an environmental point of view. The Air7 was developed as a small, durable container able to
carry the same amount of cargo as an AKE, but which can be folded down for compact transport once empty.

The Start-up Candidates
The candidates in the Start-up category are BeOn IoT, Drone Delivery Canada, and Nepal Flying Labs. One tracking service and two drone operators.
 
BeOn IoT entered its “Asset tracking for zero waste logistics” which is a “real-time tracking service for sensitive and valuable assets which are
transported by air.
” Shipments can be monitored in real-time via the BeOn web platform, and action can be taken in the event of alert.
The sustainable impact is the fact that, should a product become ruined during transport, the journey can be terminated at the next possible point, rather than it is traveling all the way to
destination.
BeOn tracking device monitors temperature, shocks, and global position in real-time. It is compliant with air transport standards, uses an existing low-power network (LPWAN) deployed in 65
countries and has 3 years of battery life to ensure sustainability of the solution.

Drone Delivery Canada (DCC) “provides an electric, eco-friendly, advanced drone cargo logistics infrastructure solution, the main application of which is to serve remote
communities as well as support governments, commercial and industrial applications and export opportunities. The solution is a fully integrated turnkey logistics platform including
industrial-grade electric drones, automated DroneSpotTM depots, automated Battery Management Systems, a sense and avoid radar system, and proprietary FLYTE software to integrate all components
into a safe and effective solution. All flights are monitored from DDC’s Toronto Operations Control Centre. All patents and intellectual property belong to DDC.

The second drone operator in this category, Nepal Flying Labs, which operates humanitarian and medical cargo drones, presented its “Drone Optimized Therapy System (DrOTS)”. This is a
project that assists the Ministry of Health and Population and National Tuberculosis Center by using drones to transport
sputum samples taken from people at health care centers in remote villages to be checked for tuberculosis by medical staff using high-end GeneXpert diagnostic tools at the central district
hospital.
To date, over 106 drone flights have been carried out, delivering more than 742 sputum samples, with a result of 26 positive cases from eight remote health facilities.

Sustainability and environmental issues stand high on TIACA’s agenda, Celine Hourcade  -  picture: courtesy TIACA
Sustainability and environmental issues stand high on TIACA’s agenda, Celine Hourcade – picture: courtesy TIACA

And the winner is…
All 23 applications were evaluated by an independent panel of judges on the basis of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, innovation and practical applicability.
The judges, Chris McDermott, CEO, CHAMP Cargosystems, Deniz Kargaci, Manager, Corporate Sustainability Management, Turkish Airlines, Eng Naif Al-Abri, CEO, TRANSOM, Steven Polmans, Director Cargo
and Logistics, Brussels Airport and Susy Schoneberg, Head, Flexport, then short-listed the above companies who have now been invited to present their entries live during the Digital Air Cargo
Forum (ACF), early December.

 

TIACA members will have the possibility to vote online for their favorites, and the winners will then be declared on the final day of the forum.
More than ever before, sustainable solutions and processes are critical to ensure long-term relevance and profitability of the air cargo industry. We were pleased with the diversity of
applications to this year’s Awards and impressed by their quality. I am convinced that with such a broad array of young start-ups and well large businesses pushing the limits in innovation our
industry’s sustainable future is bright,
” Céline Hourcade, Transition Director and Head of Sustainability Program, TIACA, commented.
I congratulate all the finalists of the Awards and look forward to hearing more about their solutions at the Digital Air Cargo Forum this December.

Brigitte Gledhill

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Source: Cargoforwarder

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