Charlotte Juillard-Masson, transport manager at Architectural Coatings (AC) France, is a passionate advocate for sustainable transportation. Throughout her tenure with us, she has become a prominent figurehead of FRET21—an initiative dedicated to minimizing our company's environmental footprint and optimizing transport processes.
Ever since joining our company in 2010, Charlotte has overseen the movement of goods from the factory to warehouses and from warehouses to customers. Presently, as the transport manager at AC France, her role is both intricate and demanding, which is precisely what Charlotte finds most fulfilling.
"We have to manage the quality and cost of transport, but also optimize processes, organization and our impact on the environment."
Sustainability has always been Charlotte's primary focus, leading her to embark on numerous projects and initiatives, including her involvement in FRET21.
The Commitment to Sustainability Spells FRET21
According to Charlotte, the FRET21 initiative has a clear objective of mitigating the environmental impact of transportation. As part of this important endeavor, AC France has made a committed effort to reduce its CO2 emissions resulting from transportation by 20% within the next three years.
We have already taken several steps that will help us meet this goal. We choose transporters who use alternatives to diesel or who use railroads. We opt for biofuel in the trucks that travel between our plants and depots. We also optimize truck loading to maximize the efficiency of our transport.
In order to minimize the distance traveled in product deliveries, AC France is using Collaborative Routing Centres. This innovative approach allows multiple suppliers to deliver their products through a single unified platform, effectively eliminating the need for individual deliveries to each point of sale. Charlotte emphasizes that this initiative alone has resulted in a significant 15% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
While we are committed to making sustainable choices, the implementation of sustainable transportation methods at PPG is not without its challenges, as confirmed by Charlotte. "Adapting to the context is the biggest challenge in achieving a more sustainable transport system. For example, biofuels may not be fully available to all carriers."
Nevertheless, we maintain an open dialogue with all stakeholders, including carriers and customers, with the aim of collectively fostering sustainable practices throughout the supply chain.
A Superhero for the Environment
Living up to her words, sustainability extends beyond Charlotte's professional life. Nowadays, she prefers commuting to work via train, while also actively supporting the production and consumption of local grocery products.
I am also part of the union council of the building where I live, where I try to reduce the energy consumption. Additionally, I have set up a composter there so that we can minimize our waste.
Charlotte's unwavering dedication to sustainability recently earned her the esteemed 2023 Rainmaker award. “Being nominated is an honor. But what is much more important to me is that it is an award for a sustainability project.”
Frederic Beauquesne, AC EMEA South supply chain director and Charlotte's direct supervisor, highlights Charlotte's substantial contributions to the "onboarding of AC France on our sustainability journey. Charlotte successfully initiated a momentum to reduce continuously the greenhouse gas emission of AC France transportation means.”