Transport affects the total impact of your products and is dependent on the distance and mode of transported materials. In Helix, you can model the transportation of purchased materials to reflect this impact. This article covers the following questions:
What does it mean to model transport, and what data is required to do so?
How to add transport?
How to import transport data?
What does it mean to model transport, and what data is required to do so?
Transport is modeled in Helix to capture the transportation impact of the purchased materials your organization uses in its products.
You need to following information to model transport in Helix:
Transportation distances for all purchased materials.
Transport mode (e.g., lorry, container ship, ferry, etc.).
Pro tip - Estimating transport distances: Don’t know the transport distances of purchased goods? Use the following links to estimate them:
Sea (sea distances; blue road map).
How does transport distance work in Helix?
In Helix, transport is automatically calculated based on the distance (in kilometers) and the mass of the material being transported. This value is called ton*kilometer (tkm). This approach ensures that only the portion of the transport emissions relevant to your product is included, based on its share of the vehicle’s load.
You don’t need to calculate tkm yourself, Helix does that for you automatically:
You enter the distance the material travels.
Helix calculates the transport impact by multiplying:
The amount of material (in tons; completed when you added purchased materials), and
The distance (in km).
This gives you results in ton*kilometers (t*km); the correct unit for transport in LCA.
How to add transport?
Step 1. Navigate to the transport page.
Go to:
Top menu bar -> Input → 1. Company → 4. Transport.
Here, you’ll see a list of all your purchased materials listed as a row (from right to left) on the page. If you haven’t added purchased materials yet, start with this article.
Step 2. Gather the required information.
The following transport information is required per purchased material:
Transportation distances for all purchased materials.
Transport mode (e.g., lorry, container ship, ferry, plane, etc.).
Step 3. Add the transportation method(s).
Write a transportation method in the ‘New transportation method’ field (Figure 1).
Click ‘add+’.
Repeat.
Step 4. Add the distance per material.
For each transportation method added, fill in the transportation distance per purchased material (Figure 1). Leave ‘0’ if a material was not transported via that transport method.
Figure 1: Adding transport method(s) (left) and distances (right) in Helix.
Step 5. Select a representative transportation dataset.
Lower on the page are all the transportation methods you added in Step 4. Select ‘+Add dataset’ (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Adding a representative transport dataset in Helix.
Once you’ve found a representative dataset, select ‘Add’.
Repeat this process for each transportation method.
How to import transport data?
To successfully import Transport for your materials, follow these steps:
Go to the Input → 1.Company → 4.Transport
Ensure all materials have a dataset connected in ‘Purchasing’. Transport is linked to the dataset. Without it, your materials will not appear in the transport export.
Confirm that all required transport methods are added on the ‘Transport’ page.
Export the import template (Figure 3) on the ‘Transport’ page by clicking ‘Export’
Each ‘Material-Transport Method’ combination has its own line in the export.
Example: If you have a material called ‘Polyethylene’ with both ‘Truck Transport’ and ‘Containership Transport’, the export will show two lines; one for each transport method.
Fill out required fields:
Transport method (A): The method of transport.
Material name (B): The material to be transported.
Product (C): Dataset/impact item linked to the material.
Company (D): The ‘company’ (or database) the raw material is sourced from.
Year (E): The year in Helix in which the product is modeled.
Ton (F) (optional): Amount of tons of material transported.
Km (G): The distance over which the material is transported.
Import the file
Upload the completed file on the ‘Transport; page.
Check the changes before saving.
Note – Empty lines: Empty or irrelevant lines can be deleted from the import (e.g. if the distance for a certain material - transport method combination is 0).
Figure 3: Excel import template of ‘Transport’ page
Import failing: Troubleshooting steps
Import failing: Troubleshooting steps
If your import fails or shows ‘ignored lines’, check the following:
Verify that file headings are correct and in the right columns.
Remove any formulas; only plain values are accepted.
Ensure dataset columns (C, D, and E) are filled out. Since transport is connected to the dataset, missing values will prevent the import.
Next steps
Once you've added transport distances and selected representative datasets, Helix automatically calculates transport impacts based on ton-kilometers. This ensures your model reflects real-world logistics without the need for manual calculations.
By completing this step, you’ve completed the material journey (i.e., material and product inputs), and you can move on to the process-level inputs.