During her tenure at SLOCAT, the Kühne Climate Center was born, and it became one of her most important partners. “From the onset, it was an eye‑to‑eye collaboration – humble, open, experimental – and it empowered us in ways a small NGO could not achieve alone.” Support from KCC rested on three pillars: technical expertise, among others from academics at Kühne Logistics University; access to the Kühne Foundation’s vast network; and earmarked funding that allowed SLOCAT to focus more on freight. One key output of the partnership was the roadmap on transforming freight transport and logistics toward intermodal, low‑carbon, efficient, and resilient systems. Created for decision-makers and other actors who shape these systems, these science‑based tools outline actions that deliver quick wins, set the framework for long‑term transformations, and help decision‑makers understand what to prioritize when time and resources are short.

Maruxa Cardama explains that the collaboration also played a key role in ensuring that freight transport and logistics moved from the margins of international sustainability debates into the center of global policy frameworks. “People are now recognizing how we move goods has the power to change the fabric of our economies and societies, and impact human development at large,” she says. This greater visibility helped make “enhancing efficiency and promoting sustainable connectivity and logistics” a priority area in the first‑ever United Nations Decade of Sustainable Transport (2026–2035). For Maruxa Cardama, this milestone gives her confidence for the growing global commitment to advancing efficient, connected, clean, and sustainable freight transport and logistics systems.