Mattias Gredenhag, CTO
While consumers can only play a small role in comparison to world leaders, or global businesses, consumer consciousness around climate issues has grown exponentially, and the public is determined to do its part in how and where they buy products.
It means expectations on ecommerce companies and online retailers to reduce emissions generated during last-mile deliveries are increasing. Indeed, some 88% of shoppers expect brands to help them live more sustainably.
Showcase shared priorities
By 2050, the European Environment Agency expects global logistics to account for up to 40% of global carbon dioxide emissions if strong and effective actions are not taken. At the same time, it’s clear consumers have made up their mind about sustainability, and they are willing to pay a premium for it. According to this PwC report from earlier this year, more than 70% of consumers said that they were willing to pay more for sustainably produced goods 'to some or to a great extent’.
This underlines that there is work to be done when it comes to logistics and final-mile delivery. Yet it also proves that consumers are more likely to shop - and stay loyal to - ecommerce companies and online retailers that showcase their shared priorities and values by creating tangible ways to make sustainable choices.
Five strategies to help reduce emissions
There are several ways that ecommerce businesses can help reduce emissions in the last leg of the online shopping cycle including:
- Offer more sustainable delivery options – by offering and clearly badging a range of lower-emissions options at checkout, retailers can help customers make informed choices over delivery options. Lower-emissions choices could include low or zero emissions carriers or PUDO (pick up/drop off) locations
- Drive consumers instore – not all customers want a home delivery. Many prefer to buy online and collect instore. Offering these options can be more convenient for the shopper. It can also drive down emissions
- Offset schemes and charitable giving – where emissions cannot be directly reduced, they can often be offset. By setting up different delivery options to trigger charitable donations – such as restoring natural habitats or removing rubbish from the sea – retailers and shoppers can make a tangible difference and showcase their values
- Make returns digital – running a user-friendly online returns process means there is no need to send a returns label to each customer. They can be printed only when needed, reducing the environmental impact of label creation
- Measure emissions – developing and measuring strategies to reduce carbon footprint requires real knowledge about current emissions levels. Retailers that measure their emissions across the supply chain can assess whether their reduction strategies are successful, and demonstrate their progress to regulators and stakeholders
Better data helps retailers reduce emissions
Fundamental to ensuring their strategies are successful, is securing real data on the current emissions so that they can monitor and report on their progress. This is why, later this year, nShift will launch Emissions Tracker, which will help ecommerce companies and warehouses calculate, record, and analyze greenhouse gas emissions for every shipment.
It enables companies to comply with environmental reporting requirements and helps them pinpoint opportunities for emissions reduction.
Last-mile delivery options
There are other ways nShift can help today.
We connect our customers to a library of over 1000 carriers. This makes it easier to offer a range of lower-emissions last-mile delivery options around the world.
Through nShift’s Checkout solution, lower-emissions shipping options can also be displayed and clearly badged at checkout. nShift Checkout’s new positive impact feature enables online retailers and webshops to set up delivery options that trigger donations to good causes.
To find out more about how nShift can help you reduce emissions and showcase the shared value of your customers, please get in touch today.
