Every year, thousands of trees are used for one specific purpose: to create bills of lading. These critical ocean freight documents historically have only been accepted as paper documents, with digital transformation lagging in the industry. According to the Digital Container Shipping Association, (DCSA), ocean carriers issue 45 million bills of lading annually, each composed of multiple sheets of paper – giving us a grand total of 10,000 trees used for this single purpose.
CargoX, a global leader in electronic trade documentation technology, is planting the seeds of change toward its mission of making global trade more sustainable. The company just announced it will plant 10,000 trees with the Berlin-based organization, GROW MY TREE.
CargoX is working to make trade more green on two fronts: first by moving the supply chain industry from paper-based to electronic trade documentation; the second by actively restoring heavily-damaged environments.
Trade documentation currently consumes a precious amount of resources. According to global consultant, McKinsey & Company, approximately 75% of current trade documentation is paper-intensive.
CargoX is committed to moving the supply chain industry to electronic trade documentation, which is both more cost-effective and better for the environment. Global trade is estimated to increase by $40 billion as a result of electronic bills of lading. This will save $6.5 billion in direct costs, according to McKinsey.
As Stefan Kukman, CargoX founder & CEO explains it, “Our innovative and well-proven CargoX Platform for Blockchain Document Transfer (BDT) makes it possible for global supply chain partners to transfer documents of title electronically instead of sending signed paper documents through courier services.”
Kukman also understands it’s not enough to simply protect the remaining trees left in the world but to actively plant new ones as well. At the current rate of deforestation, scientists estimate that there will be no rainforests left in 100 years. CargoX wants to reverse that trend and tell the opposite story in 100 years of more forests with more diverse ecosystems than today. To that end, GROW MY TREE is the right partner for CargoX, Kukman says.
“Besides just eliminating paper from supply chain workflows and replacing it with digital trade documents, CargoX is also committed to rejuvenating depleted forests and protecting the environment for future generations. We encourage everyone in the supply chain industry to do the same,” Kukman adds.
CargoX trees will be planted in the next two months in Tanzania, where the rainy season just started. They will include both native trees as well as fruit trees for agroforestry.
By offering the supply chain industry the technology that ensures a simple and cost-effective transition from paper-based to digital documentation, CargoX is pioneering the transition from paper to digital.
This makes the transfer of documents of title even more secure, reliable, and less prone to fraud risks for global trade and supply chain participants. Additionally, transfers are performed at a fraction of the cost of paper documents, and they can travel around the globe in seconds, not days or weeks, as is the case with paper documents.
Another benefit is that the use of paper, ink, and courier services is eliminated altogether. Digital processes can be automated and workflows optimized to reduce the shipping industry’s overall environmental footprint.
CargoX understands that to be a worldwide leader, be it in electronic trade documentation technology or sustainability, you first have to take steps to protect the world itself.
