How To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint When Shipping

The days of sustainability being a ‘nice to have’ for businesses are long gone. Customers are increasingly choosing to work with businesses that treat the environment and sustainability as a priority and so ignoring these issues can be extremely detrimental.

When it comes to shipping goods, there’s no way to get around the fact that you’re contributing to carbon emissions. Whether your parcels are being transported via vans, trucks, ships, airplanes, or a combination of several methods, emissions are being pumped in the atmosphere at every stage (and that’s before we consider the potential impact of packaging waste).

Luckily there are some steps that you can take to offset these emissions and reduce the size of your shipping carbon footprint without impacting on factors like profitability or efficiency.

A group of business people standing around a conference table discussing net zero, recycling, sustainability, and emissions

  • Green Delivery Options

In the world of shipping, the rule is the faster the better 99% of the time. One factor that falls into that 1%, however, is carbon emissions. When your customers select faster shipping methods, you run the risk of couriers operating less efficiently such as only half loading vans or planes in order to meet delivery deadlines.

Slower delivery methods aren’t always the best choice, but where they are, encourage your customers to choose an economy or consolidated delivery option. Consider highlighting the eco-friendly nature of these deliveries at checkout, or if you have a loyalty programme, you could reward customers that choose greener shipping.

  • Choose A Carrier Carefully

The fact is that some couriers are better than others when it comes to efficiency and emissions. While every business will be taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint, some carriers take it a step further by investing heavily in fuel-efficiency, low emission transport, and other sustainable practices.

By choosing a courier that has a lower carbon footprint, you’ll be reaping the rewards when it comes to your own business’ footprint. Most major carriers have made the steps they’re taking towards achieving sustainability publicly available and their targets should be easy to find on their websites which makes it easy to ensure that their business’ sustainability ethos aligns with your own’.

A pair of hands carefully lowering a ceramic pot into a cardboard box lined with cardboard/paper stuffing material
  • Review Packaging Choices

If you’re using unnecessary packaging then the dimensional weight of your shipment will rise, which can lead to increased costs. But it’s not just your business’ wallet that will pay the price.

Oversized or unnecessary packaging uses extra raw materials, increases waste after receipt, and adds volume to delivery vehicles which can in turn increase emissions. On top of this, customers are becoming more aware and critical of brands that use unnecessary or excessive packaging which can lead to lost business.

To combat this, make sure that you’re not using boxes that are too big for the products that you’re shipping. Although you should make sure that your shipments are packaged securely, avoid single-use plastics like bubble wrap. Instead choose sustainable materials like biodegradable fillers, paper-based or reusable cushioning, or compostable alternatives.

  • Offset Your Emissions

No matter how diligent you are, there’s no avoiding the fact that some emissions are unavoidable. Any decrease in your carbon footprint is great, but you may find that you’re just not able to reduce your emissions enough.

In this case, consider looking into carbon offsetting which allows businesses to either directly take part in or fund projects that help to reduce CO₂ in the atmosphere, therefore balancing out emissions from shipping activities.

This can look like anything from planting a tree every time you ship a certain number of parcels, to partnering with certified carbon offset initiatives to support activities like clean water, reforestation, and renewable energy. You could also experiment with offering customers the option to make their delivery carbon-neutral at checkout.

A piece of wood resting on top of a small model of planet Earth with 'CO2' on one side and a wind spinner on the other

Need more help or not sure where to start? Check out our help centre here for answers to some of our most commonly asked questions, or alternatively, reach out to our customer service team who will be happy to help however they can.