2Sustain

How do you shop for books, CDs, or other small household items? Do you like to get in your car and drive to the store, or do you prefer to shop online? Do you think one method is better for the environment than the other? Are your customers concerned with the carbon footprints of their shopping habits?

If you’re wondering about these types of green logistics questions, I suggest you check out a new report by researchers at the Logistics Research Centre, School of Management and Languages, Heriot-Watt University, in Edinburgh.

The 43-page analysis, titled “Carbon Auditing the ‘Last Mile’: Modeling the Environmental Impacts of Conventional and Online Non-food Shopping,” summarizes the results of research that compared the carbon footprints of online and conventional shopping. The study focused on “last mile” deliveries (the deliveries of goods from local stores) and personal shopping trips, and it offers some intriguing initial insights into the environmental implications of both consumer purchasing behavior and supplier distribution methods.

Interestingly, the researchers conclude that on average, neither home delivery nor conventional shopping has an absolute CO2 advantage. However, in some cases, home delivery wins out with a significantly smaller carbon footprint. For instance, if a consumer shops by car and buys fewer than 24 items per trip, home delivery generates less CO2 per item purchased. A typical home delivery produced 181 g CO2, compared to 4,274 g CO2 for a car trip, and 1,265 g CO2 for an average bus passenger.

Of course, a wide variety of factors can impact these calculations. For example, consumers who combine shopping trips can lower their carbon footprint per item purchased. On the other hand, failed deliveries when no one is at home or returns of unwanted goods can increase the CO2 generated by home delivery.

As companies and consumers become increasingly concerned with climate change, we’re going to see more attention paid to the CO2 emissions generated by different shopping behaviors and supplier distribution methods. Many firms are already adopting green shipping options, such as maximizing drop densities, utilizing low emission delivery fleets, and consolidating orders. The research in this new Green Logistics study helps us better understand how strategies like these can impact an organization’s overall sustainability efforts.