We know that the logistics industry is a double-edged sword due to the fact that there are deliveries being done by them that cause carbon emission but they also contribute to the packaging waste because of the way these shipments need to be packaged and sent out so that the damage is least. However, we now know that there is a trend from customers who want to go green and are also demanding that their packages be delivered in an environmentally-sustainable manner. Talking about that, we have EV deliveries right now but they can be done for cross-country as well as last-mile deliveries only as of now. For international shipping, we still need to rely on jets that run on fuel or we can ship them using cargos that also run on fuel.
According to a survey by the British International Freight Association, logistics providers are coming under tremendous pressure from their clients to show decarbonization of their packages. We have seen that companies all around the world have started to let their customers know that their package was carbon-neutral and that it was delivered in an environment-friendly manner. According to the results of this survey, “69% of respondents consider calculating emissions is part of their daily activities and 15.5% integrating it into their business operations”. In the survey, 31% of customers also said that they have assigned “between £1,000 and £9,000 annually for CO2 emissions calculation”.
“The conclusion is that there has been growing awareness of environmental issues among the BIFA membership and, to some extent, a growing awareness of the need to measure carbon emissions and provide that information to clients,” and added that “It will be particularly challenging for SMEs to determine how they will use this data, and what they can actually do to reduce their carbon emissions. The general consensus is that significant changes will be required. Although what these will be are not clear at the moment.” As an example, companies like “Ikea and BMW, have managed to reduce shipping lines’ carbon emissions via ‘insetting’ agreements with biofuel company GoodShipping, designed to offset a portion of vessel CO2 emissions equivalent to the proportion of their cargo a ship carries”.
