Electronic commerce does not stop growing. In 2021, its value had an increase of 27%, according to the Mexican Association of Online Sales (AMVO) and faced with a greater number of online purchases, consumers want to reduce their environmental impact and companies must respond to these concerns.
Users have a great power of choice with e-commerce tools, but they must also think about green decisions, that is, those that allow optimization of delivery processes, with the purpose of reducing environmental impact, says Satish Natarajan, CEO of DispatchTrack, a company focused on improving business delivery.
“These types of decisions are things we can do to reduce carbon emissions, in combination with different technologies to achieve the goals of speed, efficiency and sustainability” in e-commerce, the specialist points out. “This is a shared responsibility that businesses must also assume.”
According to the study, prepared by the Wunderman Thompson agency, 71% of global users expect online businesses or brands to develop good delivery and environmental protection practices.
In fact, if they carry out the right processes to guide their work towards sustainability, 67% of consumers said that it would become a key factor for them when deciding to purchase.
The issue is urgent on a planet that is getting hotter every year. According to data from Statista, global CO2 emissions in international maritime transport for e-commerce in 2019 was 710 million tons and it is expected that by 2030 they will begin to drop to 658 million tons.
However, not all logistics would have a positive movement, since the data analysis firm forecasts that delivery vehicles will go from 5.3 million tons of CO2 in 2019 to 7.2 million tons in 2030.
“There is a problem with the fact that now everything is wanted for the next day it is ordered,” says Natarajan, but suggests that companies should take a step back to analyze the environmental effects of these decisions and encourage their consumers to have greater responsibility.
“Green” benefits can be given by the fact of having made the decision to wait a little longer, soon in relation to the environmental responsibility that must be assumed in the different aspects of electronic commerce. “We have to evolve.”
A case of this environmental problem occurs in the packages, since these generate between 20 grams and one kilogram of CO2 for each purchase made and in view of this, companies are also trying to generate a change.
Amazon, for example, has had its Frustration-Free Packaging Program since 2018, which proposes a way for manufacturers to deliver their products in recyclable cardboard boxes that are easier to open, in addition to reducing the amount of packaging inside to reduce waste.
Combine technology and logistics to reduce the impact
Current logistics is based on a quick commerce model, in which users also seek greater efficiency in the delivery of their products, so companies must use technology to their advantage to automate processes and reduce possible errors. humans.
The expert mentions that the use of software for optimizing distribution centers and route planning gains value. In addition, the last mile is the most expensive process in the supply chain, so the more its operating costs are reduced by implementing technology, digitization and automation, the better the company’s position.
Electromobility, on the other hand, is an element that logistics companies are implementing to face the climate crisis while they continue to operate, since 23% of global CO2 emissions come from the transport sector, according to estimates by the International Council on Clean Transportation. (ICCT).
Benjamín Tello, commercial manager of the logistics services company, Spread, adds that electromobility has been “an added value for their business, since today they are demanding much more from retail that dispatches be in electric vehicles, especially for the objective of the industry to be carbon neutral companies”.
