Quite honestly, e-commerce is now taken for granted. The convenience of ordering goods that are almost magically delivered right to your door is just one of the things our customers no longer want to do without.
What we need for this? Shipping service providers. And not just any providers - but ones that meet the requirements of our target groups. Those that can also cope with the increasing relevance of e-commerce and - very importantly - are sustainable. In 2020, for example, more than 131 billion (!) parcels were shipped worldwide. That's a growth rate of 27% compared to the previous year.
This figure shows once again: nothing works without e-commerce. Especially in the pandemic, many rely on online ordering. Simply because it's quick, convenient and they don't have to go to the shop. So far, so good. Or?
How does sustainable shipping work?
Trade in sustainable products is also growing rapidly in the area of online shopping. But what does sustainable shipping mean? Sustainable shipping means first and foremost that as few resources as possible are used and as little waste is produced in the production, transport and packaging of the products. This includes using materials that are recycled or biodegradable. CO2 emissions are also to be reduced by using climate-neutral shipping gas. Currently, there is no uniform definition for sustainable shipping. Therefore, it is advisable to find out exactly about the respective company and find out whether the provider actually ships in an environmentally friendly way. We have summarized what constitutes a sustainable supply chain and corresponding sustainable shipping for you in a blog post.
Is sustainable shipping more expensive?
If you're asking yourself whether sustainable shipping is more expensive, you first need to define what you mean by the term "sustainable." Generally, sustainable shipping is about preventing pollution and protecting natural resources. However, this does not mean that the price of sustainable products has to be higher. In many cases, sustainable shipping can even be cheaper because fewer raw materials are needed to make the products.
Does sustainable shipping take longer?
Currently, it is very important to focus on sustainable products and services. But often people assume that these prioritizations are accompanied by corresponding delays in terms of shipping time or the like. That's why we asked ourselves the question: Does sustainable shipping take longer? The answer is actually quite simple: No! Sustainable shipping usually takes the same amount of time as conventional shipping - often even a bit shorter. This is because conventional shipments often require detours as they are delivered from different locations. With sustainable shipping, however, everything is routed through one larger point of contact, which can significantly reduce delivery time.
Customers want sustainable shipping service providers
Yes: online shopping is pleasant. But (!) the increasing parcel volume also results in increasing emissions. With every parcel that shipping service providers deliver by car, they emit harmful CO2.
Especially because the volume of parcels is constantly growing, it is all the more essential that we reduce the impact on the environment. In the study "Shipping and returns management in e-commerce 2021," for example, the sustainability of packaging was cited by the online retailers surveyed as the most important criterion in need of improvement.
Customers are also aware of this: for example, according to the Federal Environment Agency, 86% of Germans would opt for environmentally friendly shipping. Other sources indicate that more than half of those surveyed rate "green delivery" as important to very important when it comes to deliveries. The Hamburg-based startup Green Credits also learned in its sustainability study from 2021 that the criterion of "sustainability" is important to more than 90% of participating online shoppers. What's more, respondents said they would like to see a transparent last mile and would even pay more if shipping was sustainable.
Sustainable shipping is becoming more and more of a focus for customers. So retailers have to follow suit. It's no coincidence that there are now many service providers who specialize solely in sustainable shipping. The goal they all have in common: To help shape a green future. But how can you best get started now?
In this blog article, we compare shipping service providers who want to ship more sustainably. We show which shipping service provider can do what, whether avoidance or compensation is better and how your first step towards a more sustainable company can look like. Are you ready?
Proven, well-known, popular: DHL
The yellow DHL delivery vans are now a feature of every cityscape. DHL was founded in 1969 in San Francisco, is now present in over 220 countries and is the market leader in e-commerce.
Precisely because of its global activities as a parcel service provider, DHL sees itself as having a responsibility to do something for the planet. So they have set themselves the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and bringing all emissions to net zero by 2050. How are they going to do that? By investing seven billion euros by 2030 to increase sustainable aviation fuels, making all new buildings carbon neutral, and increasing the share of last-mile e-vehicles to 60%. They also want to have increased the number of e-trikes to 14,000 by 2025.
DHL is also converting to bicycles as an environmentally friendly delivery method. Especially in metropolises and city centres, small parcels are increasingly being delivered by bicycle or even on foot. As a result, every fourth DHL parcel and two out of three merchandise mail items are delivered completely CO2-free.
How good is DHL really?
Since 2011, DHL has also offered the option of sending parcels with DHL GoGreen. This is a CO2-neutral delivery, since the amount of harmful greenhouse gases in the atmosphere does not increase - purely mathematically. If you as an entrepreneur choose DHL GoGreen as your shipping service provider, your parcel will be delivered CO2-neutrally over the last mile: The emissions caused by the delivery truck are offset by investments in climate protection projects (e.g. wind farm, biogas or hydropower projects).
The catch with DHL GoGreen: CO2 emissions are for the most part not avoided, but compensated for. This means that the emissions we cause are "reclaimed" afterwards. However, reforesting forests or developing climate protection projects can take decades. And these are periods of time in which the released climate gases can cause damage ...
Continuous progress: Hermes
While according to the Parcel Shipping Index from Pitney Bowes DHL leads the parcel volume ranking with 48% of all parcels, Hermes ranks second - with 16%. The comparison of these two parcel service providers shows: So there still seems to be room for improvement for Hermes here. The situation is different when it comes to sustainability.
Hermes also launched a global climate and environmental protection programme twelve years ago under the name "We Do! The parcel service provider has also been offering climate compensation for business customers since 2015. This gives them the opportunity to support reforestation, well or cooking projects around the world for a small extra charge - and thus offset the CO2 caused by the delivery.
How many companies ultimately use this offer is not known. This means that parcels sent in the "conservative", environmentally harmful way still emit an average of 500g of CO2. With nearly four billion parcels sent in Germany every year, that adds up pretty quickly. For private customers who send parcels with Hermes, however, CO2-neutral shipping has (finally) been included since 2021. Step 1? Check.
But Hermes is also aware that this is not enough. Because by the time a tree has grown to the point where it binds sufficient CO2, the emissions have already done damage to the atmosphere. That is why Hermes is already taking the next steps:
Thanks to delivery bikes and electric vans, all Hermes parcels in Berlin have been delivered emission-free since June 2021. More German cities are to follow in the next few years. Hermes wants to deliver its parcels in the city centres of the 80 largest German cities without emissions by 2025. And rightly so: after all, cargo bikes are on the rise...
How good is Hermes really?
No question: It is exemplary that Hermes already carries out emission-free deliveries. At least they are trying to set an example and lead by example. But: that doesn't really succeed. Because when we think of Hermes, we don't think of sustainable deliveries - do we?
And that's no wonder: the almost 2,000 electric vans Hermes carries are just a drop in the ocean. Considering the more than 800 million shipments that are largely delivered by "normal" vans every year, they don't make much difference. It is true that Hermes is trying hard to be a good role model. But even here there is still a lot of room for improvement. It can be done better!
Very anxious (?): UPS
Of course, the competition from DHL and Hermes is not sitting idly by while customers' sustainability needs continue to evolve. UPS also understands how important sustainability is today - and is acting accordingly: Under the motto of"achieving both service and sustainability," the shipping service provider with the brown and yellow vans offers the "carbon neutral" option. And thus joins the ranks of CEPs that want to act more sustainably. UPS customers can offset the greenhouse gases they emit by supporting climate protection projects in Thailand, the USA and elsewhere.
UPS also states that they are constantly monitoring and trying to optimise the kilometres they travel and the petrol and paper they use. At first glance, these attempts to become more sustainable also seem laudable. But should you really send your packages via UPS?
What do the efforts really achieve?
Of course, small efforts are better than none. However, the information flow and transparency are not really there on the UPS homepage. Especially if we compare UPS with other shipping service providers. If we also add "hard facts", it quickly becomes clear: UPS has some catching up to do.
Private customers not only have to pay extra if they want to send a package in a carbon neutral way - no: Although UPS sees itself as a "pioneer for the planet", the company's CO2 emissions are continuously increasing. According to Utopia, the parcel service provider's CO2 emissions increased by a full 6% in 2018 compared to the previous year. And: We search in vain for a German-language sustainability report on the German website... Is this what environmental awareness looks like?
Innovative, sustainable, ambitious: Sendit.Green
You could probably guess it already: This wouldn't be a "shipping service providers in comparison" article if we didn't also bring ourselves into the comparison :-) At Liefergrün, we've been committed to revolutionizing the last mile since 2020. It was clear to us from the start: the shipping service provider market needs an upgrade. And why should we "only" offset when we can also deliver completely without CO2 emissions? After all, industry experts believe that offsetting is not enough and should be the last step in the sustainability strategy.
This is precisely why we at Liefergrün have decided to focus on avoiding and reducing emissions. While we know that in certain areas we can still learn something from the local shipping service providers, we are definitely pioneers when it comes to optimizing the last mile: we use a mix of electric vans and cargo bikes to make inner-city logistics as sustainable as possible. This ultimately leads to an improvement in your company's eco-balance. Through Delivery Green, you can save up to 50% of your carbon footprint - without having to offset. We already deliver to 17 million people in 30 cities. And the demand for sustainability is growing.
All of this, combined with next-day deliveries and shipment tracking, ultimately leads to what all customers (and especially our environment!) deserve: A sustainable last mile. Because the days when consumption and environmental awareness were mutually exclusive are over. We can all contribute to a more livable future - by choosing the right shipping service provider.
Ambition + sense of responsibility = DPD
The reason for DPD's sustainability efforts is as simple as it is obvious: "We all live in the same place." Someone seems to have understood what climate-friendly shipping is all about! DPD's sustainability is based on three pillars: Measurement, Reduction and Offsetting. For example, the shipping service provider has been shipping in a climate-neutral way for a whole ten years (!), i.e. since 2012 - and at no additional cost to customers or recipients. They also measure the carbon footprint of every parcel and aim to reduce it by 30% by 2025.
How do they do this? By relying on green electricity from renewable energy sources, by adhering to ecological construction criteria in new depots and by introducing the first green depot near Memmingen in 2021. Electric vehicles and cargo bikes are also on the agenda: in Hamburg's city centre all DPD parcels are delivered emission-free.
How good is DPD really?
However, the figures are - once again - sobering: According to the Corporate Social Responsibility report from 2021/2022, only 1,163 low-emission (not even "zero-emission"...) vehicles are used across Europe. Compared to the 60,000 vehicles in use for DPD in total, this number seems vanishingly small.
This shows: DPD also focuses on offsetting rather than avoiding CO2 emissions. And in line with its "Driving Change" strategy, it is doing so quite successfully, supporting renewable energy, clean energy and circular economy projects in India, Brazil etc....
Who do I send with now?
Yes, it can almost overwhelm you. After all, we all want to do everything right - especially when it comes to sustainability. After all, how quickly do people accuse you of "it's all just greenwashing"? Especially if you want to become more sustainable with your e-commerce, you should rely on reputable shipping service providers who don't just pretend.
An important point here: Inform yourself sufficiently about what exactly shipping service providers do to act in a climate-friendly way. Our article can of course serve as a guide (hopefully it does!), but it is no substitute for detailed research that also takes your preferences into account.
There is one more thing I would like you to consider: CO2 reduction is more important and more effective than CO2 compensation. Because the greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere by delivery trucks can only be harmful if they are produced at all... Of course, offsetting is a very good way to act more sustainably - but it should come as the last step in your sustainability strategy, after reduction and avoidance.
Always remember: The time a tree needs to grow is used by greenhouse gases to cause damage in the atmosphere...
If you are interested in climate-friendly shipping and would like to make your future deliveries not only CO2-neutral, but CO2-free, please contact us. Contact with us. We look forward to supporting you in your sustainability efforts.
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