[United Kingdom, 18th June 2025] Day two of Multimodal 2025 delivered an intensive focus on the industry’s twin challenges of environmental sustainability and the explosive growth of ecommerce, as logistics leaders shared practical insights and real-world solutions across three packed conference sessions at the NEC.
The day’s programming reinforced the event’s position as the UK’s premier logistics innovation platform, with industry experts tackling the complex regulatory landscape around decarbonisation whilst exploring how supply chains are adapting to meet rapidly evolving consumer expectations in the digital age.
Navigating the sustainability maze
The morning session “How will the supply chain industry become environmentally sustainable?” brought together trade compliance experts to decode the increasingly complex web of environmental regulations facing UK businesses.
Anna Doherty, Customs Practice Director at the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, outlined the scale of upcoming regulatory changes: “EU CBAM comes into effect 1st January 2027. There was a clear need for the CBAM policy, but businesses need to understand the implementation period before the definitive period begins.”
The session highlighted stark differences between EU and UK approaches to compliance, with Doherty noting: “The EU asks for a lot of data whilst the UK government only asks for data that is necessary for reporting and easily accessible. The UK treats it like a tax post-movement of goods, similar to VAT.”
Ilona Kawka, Imports Advisory Practice Lead, from the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade emphasised the critical role of data quality in sustainability initiatives: “Digitisation of reporting for sustainability allows us to move more data in a timely and efficient way. But the digitisation of process is only as good as your data – you have to review your data and make sure the solution you’re trying to implement matches the quality of data you have.”
The discussion revealed innovative approaches to compliance, with some agricultural suppliers achieving remarkable traceability levels. “Some farmers can now track a specific piece of fruit to a specific square metre of land to prove goods aren’t subject to deforestation regulations,” Kawka explained.
Ewelina Pieckowska, Trade Compliance Manager at Arconic and Chair of the Aluminium Federation Trade Committee, highlighted the challenges facing manufacturers: “Energy pricing remains a major issue, alongside regulatory changes that we have to keep up with and remain compliant. This is especially harder for SMEs. Our biggest concern in the UK is looking at scope for aluminium and indirect/direct emissions, whilst the EU only covers direct aluminium emissions.”
eCommerce evolution reshapes supply chains
The midday session “Why Does the UK lead the world in eCommerce?” explored how retailers’ digital transformation is fundamentally altering logistics operations and consumer expectations.
Tia Wallace, VP Business Development at DHL Supply Chain eCommerce & Retail, addressed the industry’s response to fluctuating demand: “We share modular automation solutions that can scale up and down. Driven by instability and peaks throughout the year, our customers are looking for ways to scale up in peak periods and scale back in off-peak – the best way to achieve that is through collaboration.”
Victoria Pittman, Head of Client Services at Granby, highlighted the growing complexity of customer journey management: “The customer journey looks very different now – a lot of that is about speed and expectations. Customers have a perception of what that customer journey looks like, but it’s not necessarily the reality. There’s some misalignment, and it’s our job to inform the brands and make sure they’re aware of consumer expectations.”
The session revealed the massive scale of reverse logistics challenges, with Pittman noting: “With the uptake of ecommerce, reverse logistics requirements are bigger than ever – one in five non-food products bought online last year were returned. The reverse logistics solution requires thinking about the return policy – if they don’t have a good policy, they get left behind.”
Jacob Hinson, Founder of eLocker, demonstrated the rapid evolution of last-mile delivery solutions: “Click and collect lockers have grown exponentially – InPost is popping up on every street corner, growing at a pace that no one could have predicted. People are partnering with third-party agnostic partners for lockers, including major supermarkets. Customers spend 135% more when doing a return than when they come off the street.”
Decarbonisation moves from theory to practice
The afternoon’s “Decarbonisation of multimodal and road freight operation” session showcased real-world implementations of low-carbon transport solutions, moving beyond theoretical discussions to practical case studies.
Tom Williams, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Maritime Transport, emphasised operational realities: “You don’t want an electric truck if you can’t operate it as you want to – you need enough power to the site and a good charger. It’s about finding the happy medium that allows you to operate efficiently and deliver what the client requires.”
Michael Boxwell, Group Chief Executive Officer at Voltempo, stressed the importance of driver engagement: “Get people using them, then you can start fine-tuning. Get the drivers interested – we’re seeing 40% better efficiency when drivers are properly engaged with the technology.”
Kate Broome, Sustainability and Social Impact Director at Kuehne+Nagel, advocated for a measured approach: “We continually talk about the idea of a transition – not a cliff edge. We electrify what we can today, and as technology and the energy system improves, it drives the transition further.”
Government support featured prominently, with Rosalind Marshall, Deputy Head of Decarbonisation Strategy at the Department for Transport, announcing: “There’s £1.8 billion allocated to support the transition to electrify vans and HGVs. The government recognises how efficient carrying bulky loads can be and how important that is as part of the decarbonisation journey and modal shift.”
Jamie Sands, Head of Solutions at Welch Group, highlighted the importance of evidence-based advocacy: “The key is to show it works – the data and the realities. A lot of the negativity around electric HGVs comes from misinformation, often from car markets. We’re not saying there aren’t barriers, but they’re all things we can see a direction with. We need to show how far we’ve come and prove it’s not as hard as it looks.”
Williams concluded with an optimistic outlook on sectoral opportunities: “There are a lot of generalisations – 5% of our fleet will be electrified, but we’re an import nation and a lot can easily be transitioned to electric vehicles. The naysayers focus on the big broad topic, but if you dig into the finer detail, you can see the opportunities to decarbonise at scale and at pace.”
Looking ahead to day three
With two intensive days of programming complete, Multimodal 2025 has established itself as the definitive platform for practical innovation in UK logistics. Day two’s focus on sustainability compliance and ecommerce transformation has provided attendees with actionable insights for navigating the industry’s most pressing challenges.
The final day promises to build on these foundations as the logistics community continues to shape the future of UK supply chain operations.
Event Director Robert Jervis commented: “Today’s sessions have demonstrated the industry’s commitment to turning regulatory challenges into competitive advantages. From sustainability compliance to ecommerce innovation and practical decarbonisation, we’re witnessing the emergence of solutions that will define the next phase of logistics evolution.”
Multimodal 2025 concludes tomorrow, 19th June, with the final day of exhibitions and conference programme at the NEC.
Find out more about Multimodal here: https://www.multimodal.org.uk/
