Team Global Express (TGE) has secured the top honour in the Australian Financial Review’s 2025 Sustainability Leaders List, being named Overall Winner for Impact. The carrier also received the special award of Sustainability Leader for Large Organisations, cementing its position at the forefront of sustainable logistics in Australia and New Zealand.
Award Recognition
The AFR Sustainability Leaders ranking is one of Australia’s most respected assessments of corporate environmental and social performance. Being named Overall Winner for Impact places TGE ahead of organisations across all sectors, not just transport and logistics, and signals a meaningful shift in how the freight industry approaches its environmental responsibilities.
For a company that moves millions of parcels and pallets across extensive road, rail, and air networks each year, earning the top sustainability accolade is a significant achievement. It reflects years of deliberate investment in cleaner operations and measurable emissions reduction rather than token gestures.
Sustainability Credentials
TGE’s recognition is underpinned by a portfolio of concrete, large-scale initiatives that go well beyond purchasing carbon offsets. The company has committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2040, with an interim target of a 30 per cent reduction in Scope 1 emissions by 2030.
Key programs backing these targets include:
- ARENA Electric Truck Trial — A fleet of 60 electric trucks, representing Australia’s largest commercial electric vehicle trial, operated in partnership with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
- Depot of the Future — TGE’s Bungarribee facility in Western Sydney, fitted with extensive solar panel arrays and battery energy storage systems, serves as a blueprint for low-carbon depot operations.
- CEFC Fleet Financing — A $30 million financing arrangement with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to deploy more than 300 electric vehicle assets across the network.
These are not pilot concepts sitting on a roadmap. They are funded, operational programs delivering measurable results today.
Leadership Commitment
TGE’s sustainability agenda has strong backing at the highest levels of the organisation. Christine Holgate, appointed Group Executive Chair on 31 July 2025, and Nick Stratford, who took on the role of CEO Australia on the same date, have both reinforced sustainability as a core strategic priority. This leadership alignment ensures that the environmental targets are not treated as secondary to commercial objectives but are embedded in the company’s operating model.
What This Means for the Industry
TGE’s win sends a clear signal to the broader Australian logistics sector. Sustainability is no longer a reputational nice-to-have; it is becoming a competitive differentiator and, increasingly, a requirement for winning contracts with large shippers who face their own ESG reporting obligations.
For businesses selecting freight carriers, TGE’s credentials provide a tangible way to reduce Scope 3 transport emissions. As sustainability reporting requirements tighten under frameworks such as the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards, choosing carriers with verified environmental programs will become a practical necessity rather than a preference.
The recognition also raises the bar for other major carriers. With TGE demonstrating that large-scale electric vehicle deployment and renewable energy infrastructure are commercially viable in Australian conditions, the pressure on competitors to accelerate their own decarbonisation timelines will only increase.
For shippers evaluating their carrier mix, TGE’s AFR recognition provides independent, third-party validation of the company’s environmental commitments, something that goes beyond self-reported sustainability claims.
Sources: Team Global Express — AFR 2025 Sustainability Leaders announcement, Team Global Express — Sustainability