Building a Common Language for Logistics Emissions: How iLEAP Is Closing the Data Gap

Smart Freight Centre (SFC) is working toward a zero emissions logistics industry. A key initiative supporting this ambition is iLEAP—Integrating Logistics Emissions and Product Carbon Footprints—developed in partnership with the SINE Foundation. This effort addresses a critical need in the sector: reliable and standardized emissions data that can be exchanged across systems, companies, and countries.

In this article, we explore the challenges of emissions tracking in logistics and the approach and goals behind iLEAP, as shared by Violetta Matzoros, Senior Technical Manager, Digitalization at Smart Freight Centre, and Martin Pompery, Co-Chairman at SINE Foundation.

Why iLEAP?

According to Violetta, the logistics sector faces growing pressure to deliver emissions transparency. This is necessary to meet regulatory requirements, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and other capital market regulations, particularly in the EU and increasingly beyond.

“Shippers need access to reliable information not just for reporting purposes, but also for planning purposes, and to meet internal KPIs and targets related to operational efficiency and decarbonization,” said Violetta.

However, current access to emissions data is fragmented, costly, and incomplete. It often does not meet the needs for either reporting or operational optimization. The iLEAP project seeks to close this gap by introducing a new interoperability standard—a set of technical specifications that are free to implement, open source, and software-friendly. These standards enable trustworthy emissions data to flow across transport modes on a global scale.

“Our goals are establishing a multimodal standard for seamless connectivity and exchange of logistics emissions data, enabling logistics transparency, and creating an ecosystem of solutions or an ‘internet of emissions data’ open to everyone” Violetta explained.

Why Interoperability Matters

Interoperability is a key concept behind iLEAP. Logistics is inherently collaborative. Moving goods from origin to destination involves multiple parties, and each "leg" contributes to the total shipment emissions. Today, a lack of interoperability of systems like TMS, FMS, etc. obstructs automatic and seamless data exchange. iLEAP aims to overcome this by supporting machine-to-machine communication across platforms, allowing actors to exchange data in a sovereign and trusted manner.

“It’s necessary that every actor is able to exchange emissions data with the parties that have a legitimate interest in consuming them for optimization or reporting efforts” said Violetta.

The iLEAP Approach and Strategy

Martin described how the project was shaped by learning from different digitalization initiatives in logistics.
“The one recurring theme in successful projects was a clear focus on business cases—solving one well-defined problem and working backward from there,” said Martin.
iLEAP is designed with that principle in mind. Although it could be applied to a wide range of decarbonization use cases, the focus remains on enabling emissions reporting based on the GLEC Framework and ISO 14083.

“We focus on interoperability and connectivity. We want parties to communicate seamlessly with each other, looking at it from both a business and a technical perspective,” Martin added.
The approach involved a series of community workshops to gather business needs and translate them into technical requirements. These are now expressed in the iLEAP technical specifications.

Voluntary Standardization and Community Governance

iLEAP is a voluntary standardization effort, and this shapes its governance. For it to succeed, it must be widely adopted, which requires that all parties see value in it.

“Success comes from shared value. When all parties benefit and contribute, voluntary standards like iLEAP can truly thrive,” said Martin.
Openness is central to this model—not only technical openness but also open participation. iLEAP is designed to be accessible to non-SFC members and software providers. All proposals are shared publicly, feedback is invited, and decisions are made collectively.

“We’re here to facilitate and empower. By fostering open dialogue, presenting diverse options, and working transparently, we ensure that iLEAP reflects the collective wisdom of the community,” Martin explained.

What Change Does the iLEAP Community Want to See?

According to Violetta, the goal is clear: better access to high-quality data, made easier and cheaper than it is today. Achieving this requires increased interoperability between systems, backed by organizations’ willingness to collaborate.
“Data should flow at a global scale to the parties that have a right to receive it, regardless of where it originates,” she said.

Given the complexity of logistics, including subcontracting and multi-tiered structures, working on technical and semantic interoperability ensures data from all levels flow to the shipper to enable complete shipment footprints.

“The idea that carbon transparency can be achieved without collaboration and interoperability is obsolete,” Violetta added.

The vision is that all logistics actors will report emissions using a single multimodal digital standard that is methodologically and semantically aligned with ISO14083 and the GLEC Framework–ensuring that emissions-related data is defined consistently, measured in the same units, named uniformly, and exchanged smoothly across systems.

Importantly, iLEAP is designed to support not only primary data, but also default and modeled data. This acknowledges that many organizations currently rely on these input data to calculate emissions. While access to primary data is ideal, the project does not require it for participation.

“We encourage organizations to build a roadmap and work with strategic partners to increase access to primary data. However, they don’t need it to start using iLEAP,” said Violetta.
Looking Ahead
iLEAP is laying the foundation for open, trusted, and useful emissions data to move across the logistics system—regardless of where that data comes from or who is using it. It aims to support decarbonization and operational efficiency through collaboration, standardization, and openness.

For more information or to get involved in iLEAP, contact:
- violetta.matzoros@smartfreightcentre.org or 
- team@ileap.global

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