New York, 30 September 2024 – The CEOs and executives of 22 businesses spanning the automotive, financial, retail and infrastructure sectors and government representatives from the United States and United Kingdom convened during Climate Week NYC to impel collaboration on financing zero-emission vehicles along strategic freight corridors.
This event was led by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in partnership with the Sustainable Markets Initiative, supported by BloombergNEF and Smart Freight Centre, and hosted by the Bank of America.
Current investments in road freight electrification must increase approximately tenfold to around USD $200-300 billion annually by 2030 to support the transition to electric medium and heavy-duty vehicles needed to achieve global climate goals (IEA, BloombergNEF).
Businesses deploying fleets and infrastructure, private investors, and governments must align behind shared strategies for transport electrification to de-risk and optimize investments, freight operations and supporting policies.
Green road corridors concentrate electrified infrastructure along major freight routes and connect key industrial clusters, ports and cities. As such, they provide crucial opportunities for collective investments to realize the net-zero transformation of transport and industrial systems.
Businesses and governments are, respectively, mobilizing private capital and designing policy packages to support industrial and operational decarbonization plans.
During the event, executives and public officials recognized the urgency and opportunity in aligning these efforts to collectively accelerate electrification investments along major freight corridors, and particularly in India, Mexico, Poland, and the USA.
They cited the following collaboration opportunities for companies and governments globally to push the sector transition forward:
- Express clear, aggregated demand signals for medium- and heavy-duty trucks (e-MHDTs). Fleet owners and operators must collectively communicate their electrification plans to secure and guide the investment plans of governments and private financiers along major freight corridors globally. This approach has already proved successful in India, where a demand signal of 15 corporations for 7,700 trucks is substantiating national plans for charging infrastructure deployment and the mobilization of capital for e-trucks. Corporates are now aligning around a demand signal for zero-emission light-duty and MDHVs in freight corridors and in cities in Mexico, to be announced at COP29.
- Identify and activate effective finance mechanisms to facilitate private capital deployment, as well as innovative fleet operational models to create efficiencies and optimize capital and operational expenditures. Aggregating loans or leases on vehicles, payment security mechanisms or electricity cost guarantees are promising measures for de-risking large infrastructure investments.
- Leverage aggregated operational data to optimize charging infrastructure planning and investments. Given the capital intensity of fast-charging infrastructure for e-trucks, consolidating data related to fleet operations can help charge-point operators (CPOs) and their financial backers tackle risk related to uncertain demand and operational complexity.
- Roll out consistent fuel specifications, targets and deployment plans for clean transport infrastructure – particularly charging infrastructure and energy grid upgrades – to underscore the plans of vehicle and battery manufacturers, charging providers and utilities. These should be accompanied by streamlined and accelerated permitting to enable fast adoption.
Deeksha Vats, Group Chief Sustainability Officer, Aditya Birla Group, said: “Decarbonizing logistics is a critical step towards achieving our sustainability goals. In addition, electrifying Indian truck fleets is a transformative opportunity for sustainable growth. We look forward to the continued opportunities to align transition strategies with other companies and with the government as a partner of the Zero-Emission Vehicles Emerging Markets Initiative (ZEV EMI).”
Alan Brookes, CEO, Arcadis, said: “Realizing the transition to zero-emission freight requires more than just vehicle adoption—it demands robust infrastructure development. Businesses and governments must collaborate to ensure that the necessary charging and energy networks are in place. We are thrilled that the radical collaboration driven through WBCSD is paving the way for action and bringing us closer to a net-zero trajectory.”
Yoshinami Takahashi, Corporate Vice President, COO (in charge of Fujitsu Uvance), Fujitsu, commented: “Fujitsu Uvance is committed to creating a sustainable society through digital solutions. Collaborating with companies in the ZEV EMI, Fujitsu aims to accelerate the resolution of social challenges. Recent achievements include a successful EV charging infrastructure pilot in India, resulting in 13% reduction in fuel costs. To further enhance these efforts, Fujitsu seeks to expand its data sharing framework and collaborate with businesses and governments to unlock the potential of digital collaboration for more sustainable future.”
Adrian Leach, Global Head of Energy Transition, DLL, said: “At DLL, our commitment to financing the energy transition aligns with our goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity within our portfolio and develop new business and revenue streams grounded in sustainability. We aim to offer businesses tailored asset finance solutions that meet their unique energy needs across the value chain via a strategic approach designed to support growth, mitigate risks, and drive impactful change, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable future. As we continue to innovate our financial offerings, collaboration with key stakeholders, including governments, will be critical to unlocking and scaling cleaner energy networks.”
Jennifer Jordan Saifi, CEO of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, added: “The urgency of the climate crisis demands immediate, coordinated action between businesses, governments, and investors is essential to stimulate green markets and unlock the opportunities presented by the zero-emission transition. The Sustainable Markets Initiative is committed to accelerating this shift for the transport sector and is encouraged with the ambition expressed by corporates and governments during this discussion and looks forward to supporting practical implementation.”
Christoph Wolff, CEO of the Smart Freight Centre (SFC), said: “As the global logistics industry moves toward decarbonization, the need for urgent and coordinated action has never been clearer. Collaboration is key, whether it’s through shared standards, new financing models, or the strategic timely deployment of infrastructure. At Smart Freight Centre, we are committed to accelerating this transition by aligning industry action through collective demand and linking opportunity with finance in viable pilots along major global freight corridors across the globe. The aspiration of SFC is to contribute to 5000 zero emission trucks deployed next year.”
Karen Fang, Managing Director and Global Head of Sustainable Finance at Bank of America said: “Strong signals from industries, along with supportive policies, will be key to accelerating capital flows into sustainable infrastructure. In support of our 10 year goal to mobilize and deploy USD $1.5 trillion in sustainable finance by 2030, we are helping clients with their transition, knowing that it will drive both long-term financial returns, and the progress needed to develop a low carbon economy.”
Jon Moore, CEO of BloombergNEF, said: “We’re seeing significant progress in the adoption of zero-emission trucks, with more companies and governments investing to decarbonize freight. However, the pace of adoption must accelerate to meet the urgency of the climate challenge. Scaling up production, infrastructure, and financing solutions is critical to ensure zero-emission trucks become the standard across industries.”
What’s next
Companies across the transport sector are mobilizing in public-private dialogues to drive market creation for ZEVs along strategic road freight corridors globally as part of the Zero-Emission Vehicle Emerging Markets Initiative (ZEV-EM-I) and the Collective for Clean Transport Finance (CCTF), both part of the global architecture of ZEVTC Global Transition Roadmap. In 2024 and 2025, this business coalition will focus on catalyzing road transport electrification in selected countries, including India, Mexico, the USA and others.
For more information, please contact Thomas Deloison.