Teamwork to make the dream work: multimodal decarbonisation will need cross-sector collaboration, says Logistics UK

Teamwork to make the dream work: multimodal decarbonisation will need cross-sector collaboration, says Logistics UK

Logistics UK — 2026-07-01

Land transportation

Successful decarbonisation of logistics will depend on a coordinated, whole-systems approach not isolated action or siloed policymaking across different parts of the sector. This is the recommendation of a new discussion paper “Thinking holistically: how to decarbonise multimodal logistics” from business group Logistics UK, published today (1 July 2026) at Multimodal at the NEC in Birmingham.

“Our industry is committed to decarbonising,” explains Ben Fletcher, the organisation’s Chief Executive, “and has already made great progress in adopting new technologies, forming new collaborations and optimising its processes. However, it is clear that the next step forward requires a shift in how we approach logistics decarbonisation in the UK, as low carbon fuels (LCFs), electricity networks, infrastructure, skills and planning all need to be considered as an integrated system.  

“Across all our transport modes, the same challenges of cost, technology readiness, infrastructure delays and fuel availability are hampering progress. Addressing these challenges in partnership with government is critical if the sector is to accelerate its transition in a way that keeps costs down for the wider economy.”

The report highlights the key barriers preventing full decarbonisation and constraining the sector’s ability to drive economic growth:

“High upfront costs and delays to the roll out of electricity infrastructure, along with concerns over the sustained supply of LCFs, are both major roadblocks to our sector’s multimodal decarbonisation ambitions,” he explains. “In particular, the cost of procuring adequate and timely grid connections alongside high industrial electricity prices are holding our industry back. We need access to comprehensive, low-cost electricity as well as consistent availability of LCFs to keep goods moving and trade growing.  

“Supply constraints for LCFs are driving up prices, so logistics must be prioritised to ensure that we can continue to deliver for the economy while reducing our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.”

As Mr Fletcher continues, decarbonisation presents a major economic opportunity, if we stop developing decarbonisation policies for different transport modes in isolation:

“A whole-system approach would strengthen supply chain resilience and competitiveness, creating thousands of highly skilled jobs. Increasing domestic fuel production would boost the nation’s energy security and reduce our reliance on international supplies. By understanding how much power our industry will require from the UK’s capacity-constrained grid, we can accelerate electrification where it is most viable.”

“Logistics is key to a stable economy, but as today’s paper highlights, this cannot be achieved while decarbonising in silos. The challenges facing our industry are shared and so too must be the solutions. Industry and government must take a whole-system view.” 

Logistics UK is one of the UK’s biggest business groups, representing logistics businesses which are vital to keeping the UK trading, and more than seven million people directly employed in the making, selling and moving of goods. With decarbonisation, new technology and other disruptive forces driving change in the way goods move across borders and through the supply chain, logistics has never been more important to UK plc. Logistics UK supports, shapes and stands up for safe and efficient logistics, and is the only business group which represents the whole industry, with members from the road, rail, water and air industries, as well as the buyers of freight services such as retailers and manufacturers whose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods. For more information about the organisation and its work, please visit logistics.org.uk