Environmental responsibility is a big concern for consumers these days. People often base their purchasing decisions on whether a company takes steps to reduce their impact on the environment or not. You can bet that your competitors are doing that so if you aren’t, you’re going to fall behind. Making changes to your manufacturing processes and using recyclable packaging are both important, but often it’s the shipping process that do the most damage to the environment. You need to get goods out to your customers but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it in an eco-friendly way. If you haven’t considered the environmental impact of your shipping operation, here are some simple changes you should consider making.
Choose The Right Boxes
You should already be using recycled packaging for your products, but have you considered the boxes that you ship in? You might think it’s easy to find cardboard boxes that don’t do damage to the environment but there’s a lot more to it than people realize. Of course, you should always be looking for boxes that are made from recycled material but that’s just the start. All paper starts with trees so you’ve got to think about the source of the box. A lot of boxes are made using paper from forests that aren’t sustainable. Deforestation is a big issue for a lot of people and they don’t want to deal with a company that is sourcing their boxes from unsustainable forests. When you’re finding a supplier, ask where the paper is made and make sure that they are certified as sustainable by the FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council).
As well as the cardboard in the boxes, you’ve got to think about the glue and ink that is used as well. A lot of it is very harmful to the environment but there are alternatives that are more eco-friendly. If you do your research you should be able to find a supplier that uses environmentally friendly glue and ink on their boxes.
Once you’ve found the right boxes, you need to think about the packing that goes inside. It’s important that you protect customers goods in transit but the Styrofoam that people usually use is so bad for the environment. It’s a petroleum based product that isn’t recyclable at all so it’s terrible for the environment. Instead, you should use more eco-friendly alternatives on the inside of the boxes.
The last thing to consider is the size of the packages themselves. We’ve all received a package that uses an excessively large box for a small item. Usually, it’s because the company are trying to save themselves money by bulk buying a standardized size of box. It will be a bit cheaper but so much packaging gets wasted. If you’re serious about your commitment to the environment, you should get custom made boxes for each product instead. You’ll spend a bit more money on your packaging but customers will take notice if all of the parcels they receive from you are economical with their packaging.
Pick The Right Vehicles
Using the right vehicles is absolutely key. The most eco-friendly option is electric vehicles but that isn’t always an option. They’re a lot more expensive to buy in the first place and it can be a bit of a pain for drivers on long trips because they’ll need to find recharge points which are few and far between. If electric isn’t an option, you need to pick vehicles that don’t eat through fuel. It’s the best way to save money on deliveries as well as reduce your impact on the environment. Find the vehicles that get the most mileage on a tank of fuel and you can reduce your environmental impact as much as possible. It’s also important that you buy vehicles that last so you’re not having to buy new ones all of the time.
Recycle Vehicles
Even if you pick good vehicles that last you a long time, you’re going to have to replace them from time to time. When you’re getting rid of an old vehicle, you should recycle as much as possible. All of the tyres can be cut up and recycled using a tire shredder cutter and you can sell off the rest for scrap. It helps you to save a bit more money and it’ll reduce the impact that your shipping operation has on the environment.
Offset Carbon Emissions
When you’re driving around to make deliveries, you’re always going to have a relatively large carbon footprint. You can’t avoid it entirely but you can offset those carbon emissions. There are programs that allow you to buy carbon credits and the money goes to green energy initiatives. If you add a small amount of money onto your shipping costs and then put that money back into buying more carbon credits, you’ll be operating an environmentally neutral shipping service. Your customers might be reluctant to pay the extra shipping but if you explain where the extra money is going, they should be fine with it.
Get Some Logistics Software
Efficiency is important if you’re going to run a green shipping service. You need to make sure that your drivers are only traveling the absolute minimum distance they need to so they’re not wasting any extra fuel. If they’re planning routes that take them a lot further than they need to be going, you’re just creating more emissions for no reason. Planning an efficient route is difficult though and you might get it wrong. That’s why it’s a good idea to get some logistics software. It can help you to plan routes for all of your drivers so they’re driving the shortest distance possible on all deliveries. That makes deliveries quicker which is always good news for your customers and it’ll cut the carbon emissions that you’re putting out as well.
In the lead up to Christmas, you’ll be doing more deliveries than ever. That’s why it’s extra important that you’re taking steps to make your shipping operation a lot greener than it is now. If you don’t, you could lose a lot of customers.
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