Driving to net zero: The case for shipper leadership in the transportation transition

A sudden 47% spike in diesel prices has brought renewed attention to transportation sustainability, particularly in the trucking sector. Shippers are absorbing the bulk of the Hormuz disruption costs, making risk mitigation an urgent priority. 

Faced with this volatility, shippers have a choice: pass the rising costs to customers or reduce their exposure by accelerating the shift to zero-emission freight trucks. Transitioning away from diesel not only protects against fuel price shocks but also sends a clear market signal to deliver cleaner transportation that aligns with customer, community, and investor expectations. 

As global companies strengthen net-zero commitments and U.S. policy leadership remains uncertain, shipper procurement decisions will play a defining role in shaping a more resilient, future-proof freight system. For shippers ready to move beyond reactive cost management, there is a clear path forward. 

Demand signals usher in a new phase of shipper leadership    

The procurement decisions of large shippers and their sustainable leadership will define the market, determining which routes attract zero-emission vehicles and empowering carriers to invest in new technology with confidence.  

These five steps provide a blueprint for shippers to take the lead in moving the market:  

STEP 1: Commit to clear freight emission goals 

Shippers should set transportation-specific targets that are tied to a reduction pathway, a defined timeframe, and real accountability. Setting these SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goals gives internal procurement teams the mandate to prioritize zero-emission capacity and to decline renewals from carriers that are not advancing on electrification. It also sends the durable external demand signal carriers need to justify long-term capital investments in fleet transition. 

STEP 2: Disclose Scope 3 transportation emissions 

Disclosure transforms commitment into accountability. Although there is currently no federal mandate requiring shippers to disclose Scope 3 transportation emissions, two upcoming obligations will make such disclosures highly relevant to most large shippers.  

First, California’s SB 253 requires companies with over $1 billion in annual revenue doing business in the state to disclose Scope 3 emissions starting in 2027, with penalties of up to $500,000 per year for non-disclosure.  

For U.S. multinationals with EU operations, the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requires Scope 3 reporting for companies with more than €150 million in EU net turnover, for financial years starting January 1, 2028.  

Second, the ongoing revision of the GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard is expected to tighten expectations on data quality and push companies toward activity-based carrier data rather than spend-based estimates. 

STEP 3: Build an electric-forward, carrier-collaborative reduction plan 

Before deploying zero-emission equipment, shippers should extract every available efficiency improvement from their existing networks: improving backhaul utilization, consolidating shipments, and optimizing routing all reduce emissions and costs simultaneously. In an environment of increased diesel prices, these actions generate immediate financial returns. Once operational efficiency is maximized, the next lever is the equipment itself. 

On the equipment side, battery-electric vehicles are the commercially proven zero-emission option for freight. Improved electric truck models from incumbent and new original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will enter the market as early as late 2026, providing viable diesel alternatives for zero-emission deployments. Battery costs have dropped significantly since 2023, and a recent International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) analysis projects that electric heavy-duty trucks will be the least-cost option across all major vehicle segments by 2030 and that they are already at parity in some markets, such as Texas. At current diesel prices, the cost crossover point for heavier classes moves meaningfully earlier.  

STEP 4: Act as a market maker through purchasing power and innovative contracting 

Over 38,000 medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks are already deployed across U.S. fleets, with record deployment years in both 2023 and 2024. With viable technology now commercially available, the focus is on creating a commercial structure that gives carriers the confidence and capital to invest. This is where shippers hold the most influence. Some examples of leveraging the shipper’s buying power to accelerate the zero-emission vehicle transition include the following:  

The I-10 Corridor coalition, in which participating shippers are pooling demand and co-designing a long-haul EV deployment project along one of the country’s busiest freight corridors, provides carriers and infrastructure investors with scale and certainty, rather than relying on blind speculative builds. 

Another example of innovative contracting is book-and-claim procurement, a recent innovation applied to the trucking sector. A shipper purchases zero-emission service attributes from a carrier operating electric trucks anywhere in the network and uses those to claim Scope 3 reductions, even when its own goods are moved on a diesel truck on that trip. The GMA Trucking buyers’ alliance used this model to support Nevoya in deploying 40 Class 8 battery-electric trucks on the Houston–Dallas corridor.  

STEP 5: Use your policy voice to build enabling market conditions 

No shipper can move the market alone, especially in an environment of uncertain federal policy. Acting alongside peers is how industry norms are established and how the market moves faster than any individual company could move it. 

California and numerous other states, including New York, New Jersey, Colorado, Illinois, and Washington, are advancing their own clean truck programs. Shippers operating in these states can provide data and testimony in state agency processes to help make the business case for utility programs, incentive structures, and port electrification investments that reduce the cost of zero-emission trucking services. 

Capitalizing on the buying power of shippers 

The decisions shippers make in the next two to three years will set the trajectory for the entire freight sector. They are the core mechanism through which shippers shape the freight ecosystem. When shippers embed emissions benchmarks into carrier RFPs (requests for proposals), award a greater volume of freight to fleets investing in electrification, join buyers’ coalitions, or co-invest in charging infrastructure, they send a commercial signal that is increasingly critical alongside evolving regulatory drivers. These shipper actions work in lockstep with actions that fleets can take to sustain momentum in clean transportation and help drive meaningful impact.  

The transition to clean freight will be defined by shippers who step forward to leverage their buying power. They have the scale, the influence, and the commercial relationships to accelerate this transition by taking a proactive role in driving it forward.