GFA Labelling and Certification Programme

Green Freight Asia Network (GFA) is a non-profit association of industry players committed to improving energy and fuel efficiency, reducing carbon emissions, and lowering operational costs across supply chains. GFA focuses on reducing the environmental impact of road freight transportation while supporting economic growth and efficiency in the Asia-Pacific region.

GFA’s Labelling and Certification Programme is designed to validate and authenticate specific attributes and standards related to logistics services, processes, sustainability, and environmental practices established by the company.

This validation provides assurance to stakeholders, including customers, investors, and the public, that the criteria set out by the GFA Labelling and Certification Programme have been met, thereby enhancing the credibility and reputation of the certified company.

Companies that achieve the GFA Label gain a competitive advantage over their industry peers. This programme is designed to identify "green" carriers certified by the GFA Label, giving shippers access to carriers committed to efficiency and reducing their carbon footprint. The GFA Label also certifies shippers who are committed to selecting these “green” carriers as their supply chain partners. Furthermore, the GFA Labelling and Certification Programme is intentionally designed to align with existing industry and regulatory standards. This certification enables companies to proactively position themselves to meet potential future regulatory requirements, thereby reducing the risk of non-compliance.

Obtaining certification through the GFA Labelling and Certification Programme can assist in attracting new clients and customers. It not only demonstrates your commitment to sustainable freight practices but also provides prospective clients and customers with a clear means of identifying your company as a green and environmentally responsible transportation provider. The GFA label distinguishes your business, making it more likely to be chosen by customers who prioritise sustainability in their freight and transportation choices.

GFA's Labelling and Certification Programme is designed specifically for the Asia-Pacific region and is recognised within the industry. This programme is aligned with industry best practices and standards, making it a valuable asset in the field of sustainable road transportation and logistics.

It is generally easy to get certified, provided the company meets the programme's requirements and have the necessary documentation and practices in place. Please refer to the GFA Labelling and Certification Programme Certification Guide and the GFA Labelling and Certification Criteria before beginning the certification process.

If you need additional guidance, feel free to contact GFA at info@greenfreightasia.org.

The certification process consists of submitting the completed GFA Labelling and Certification Questionnaire along with all necessary supporting documentation, followed by the certification issuance. This process takes approximately 3 to 4 weeks to complete.

Depending on feedback provided by GFA, there may be a need for supplementary or revised evidence after the initial submission, which could potentially extend the duration of the certification process.

Your GFA Labelling and Certification application is already included as part of your GFA Membership for the current membership year and incurs no additional charges. This includes both maintaining the previously achieved certification level and upgrading to a higher certification level.

The scoring methodology for the GFA Labelling and Certification programme is based on a point system that evaluates the company's sustainability and environmental practices, as well as logistics performance, with equal importance.

Points are assigned for meeting each of the required criteria for the chosen GFA Label Leaf level. Companies must meet the minimum point requirements for each qualifying criterion of their chosen certification level to attain certification.

Please refer to the GFA Labelling and Certification Criteria for the requirements for each GFA Label Leaf level.

There are two primary classifications: “shipper” and “carrier”. It is essential to select the most appropriate classification that best fits your operations for the previous calendar year in the country of operations.

A shipper is defined as a company that purchases road freight transport services for its own goods or those of its customers. Their own fleet is expected to constitute less than 30% of their operations. A carrier is a company that owns commercial road freight vehicles used for transporting goods. Their own fleet is expected to make up more than 20% of their operations.

Companies may determine the percentage of the company's own fleet based on Total Annual Volume in the previous calendar year i.e., Gross weight of shipment transported in the previous calendar year.

These two classifications, shippers and carriers, undergo distinct evaluation processes. Shippers are evaluated based on their commitment to selecting and using environmentally friendly carriers in their operations. Carriers are assessed on the sustainability and fuel efficiency initiatives they have implemented within their own fleet during the same time frame.

In any given year, a company can only be certified as either a shipper or a carrier, not both simultaneously. However, if a company's operations change, they have the flexibility to choose the classification that best represents their current operations in the upcoming years.

Shippers and carriers have different sets of requirements to fulfil before attaining certification.

The requirements for each GFA Label Leaf level can be found in the GFA Labelling and Certification Criteria. Please refer to the specific requirements before attempting to the GFA Labelling and Certification questionnaire.

After receiving the first submission, GFA will provide companies with guidance on the supplementary evidence required to reach the chosen GFA Label Leaf level. Companies will be given time to submit the evidence through email as a “re-submission” to supplement their first submission.

It is possible that the second submission still does not meet the requirements, in that case companies may receive a lower GFA Label Leaf level or even no GFA Label at all.

The certification covers the previous calendar year. The company is required to provide evidence for selected questions based on the prompts provided in the questionnaire.

Brief overview of required evidence include:

• GHG or Sustainability reports from the company’s most recent reporting period

• Vehicle maintenance agreements, contracts, and invoices covering all vehicles in the specified country for the reporting period

• Formal fuel efficiency/Eco-driving training contracts, materials, certificates, and attendance records

• Internal protocols, contracts, and invoices related to fuel efficiency measures used

• Company RFP Statements that reflect GFA ‘s requirements for Transportation RFPs

Please note that the evidence required may vary depending on the GFA Label Leaf level selected. For more information on the evidence, you may be required to submit, please refer to the GFA Labelling and Certification Programme Certification Guide.

GFA Labelling and Certification Questionnaire is available in three languages: English, Simplified Chinese, and Vietnamese. Companies can choose to complete the questionnaire in their preferred language.

However, GFA only accepts evidence that is presented in English. If the evidence is not in English, companies are required to submit a brief description in English explaining the contents of the original documents.

The internal GFA team is responsible for conducting the assessment and certification process.

GFA will keep company submissions in confidence, will not disclose, publish or otherwise distribute the company submissions to any third party. GFA may conduct further analysis on collected data to understand general trends in the Asia-Pacific region and share this research with the public. GFA will ensure that individual companies and their data/results are not identifiable in the publication of such aggregated information.

GFA aims to conduct evaluation or inspection that is impartial, transparent and comprehensive without undue external influences whatsoever that can undermine the professional ethics of the organisation.

You may learn more about GFA Labelling and Certification Programme Data Confidentiality policies here.

Companies are presented with a Certificate of Excellence, which they are welcome to share across their social media platforms or company website. These achievements will also be shared with GFA's network through LinkedIn posts and EDMs.

Companies are encouraged to showcase their past and current GFA Labelling and Certification accomplishments as a means to demonstrate their progress from GFA Label Leaf 1 to Leaf 4 and enhance their company's reputation as an environmentally conscious company.

The certification is applicable for a one-year period, from the date of certification issuance till the end of the calendar year.

The GFA Labelling and Certification Programme encourages companies to pursue annual certification to monitor their progress towards sustainability as part of their normal course of business. However, this is a voluntary certification programme. Therefore, the frequency of certification is at the discretion of each participating company, aligned with their corporate sustainability goals and objectives.