A shorter route does not always mean lower emissions.

What determines emissions?

Transport emissions depend on distance, but not on distance alone: vehicle type and fuel, the load carried, speed and traffic, empty returns and waiting time all matter. So of two routes, the shorter one may not be the one that burns less fuel.

Research shows that load and speed change fuel consumption independently of distance. That is why “shortest route” and “lowest emissions” do not always give the same plan.

What planning can influence

The topics below are where planning can have an effect. Trackinia makes them measurable and comparable; it does not promise emissions reductions.

• Unnecessary kilometres. Stop sequence and vehicle assignment are calculated together; each route’s planned distance and duration are shown.

• Vehicle utilization. Planned utilization is shown as separate ratios for weight, volume and count.

• Waiting and empty returns. Time windows can create waiting; waiting is shown separately in the planned timeline. Open routes that do not return to the depot can be defined.

• Vehicle choice. Vehicles with different capacities and features are evaluated together in the same plan.

How are emissions measured?

Calculating and reporting greenhouse gas emissions from transport needs its own method; ISO 14083 is the international standard that defines it. The calculation relies on actual distance, fuel and load data.

Planned distance and actual distance are not the same. To know whether an environmental benefit really occurred, you must look at actual operations data and not just the plan.

What does Trackinia do and not do today?

Trackinia does not calculate or report carbon emissions or fuel consumption, and it makes no claim of conformity with ISO 14083 or any other standard.

It provides planned metrics such as route distance, duration, utilization and cost. These can be inputs to a sustainability assessment, but they are not emissions themselves.