Just think of all the trees that will have to be felled to make all the extra paperwork new environmental
Just think of all the trees that will have to be felled to make all the extra paperwork new environmental reporting standards will impose.
And worse. The crackdown on carbon emissions in our warming country could add significant administrative and financial cost to the trucking industry. And to the supply chain.
The trucking industry must do its part in tackling global warming. And it has, through the take-up of cleaner engines and ongoing productivity initiatives.
The industry is also keen to play its part in any carbon trading program, as the Rudd Government is currently canvassing. The Government is looking at a compulsory permit system that will cap carbon emissions, along with a mandatory reporting program for greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption.
The administration involved in such schemes seems like a nightmare for small business — particularly with state jurisdictions imposing their own emissions frameworks and taxes.
Any national carbon trading program must be uniform, consistent and user-friendly — not the administrative burden fatigue regulations, for example, have become.
Ultimately, customers must wear any increase in operating costs that environmental standards impose. This is a global problem, a clear and present danger, that all businesses must help to address.
But the trucking industry must not be unduly burdened with reporting requirements and taxes. A viable national fleet is, after all, much better for the environment than a stressed, unprofitable one.
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