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The rise of e-commerce has been explosive. The number of people shopping online worldwide has grown so fast that the market size flirted with the four trillion mark in 2020. It’s estimated there are over 2.14 billion online shoppers in the world, which means roughly one in every four people shop at online stores.

This explosive growth isn’t surprising given the accessibility of high-speed internet and the affordability of mobile devices. The lockdowns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic also fanned the flames that helped skyrocket the e-commerce industry. While this is good for economies, not so much for the environment. 

The drastic increase in online shoppers also meant a spike in the volume of plastic waste from packaging materials and emissions from shipping. To put it simply,  the e-commerce boom also resulted in a larger carbon footprint. According to statistics from the State Post Bureau, China’s courier industry produced 1.8 million tons of plastic waste and 9 million tons of paper per year. In 2020, the shipping of goods was accountable for 37% of the total greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. 

In summary, the shipping industry’s negative impact on the environment boils down to emissions due to the transport of goods and waste generated by packaging materials. Taking this into consideration, there are plenty of eco-friendly practices businesses can follow to lower carbon emissions and reduce their production of waste.

Switch to sustainable packaging

You don’t have to compromise the safety of your products to become a greener business. By switching to sustainable packaging, you ensure the waste generated by the products you ship isn’t harmful to the environment while also guaranteeing your customers receive their orders undamaged. 

If you’ve been using plastics and other unsustainable materials, making the transition to fully sustainable packaging can be hard, but it’s worth it in the long run. Green options for packaging aren’t cheap but there are many choices. Many and many businesses are providing recycled packaging, eco-friendly packing peanuts, and biodegradable materials. Furthermore, increased environmental awareness among consumers means they are more willing to spend more money on greener alternatives.

Optimize packaging

Apart from switching to greener packaging options, there are more steps you can take to make your packaging more sustainable. Optimizing how you package your shipments can drastically reduce the amount of packaging you use, decreasing costs and lowering your carbon footprint. 

Perhaps the most important practice to follow in optimizing your packaging is using the right size for every product. Using a fixed-size box for many product sizes is cheaper and more convenient, but it’s not sustainable. Instead, invest time and resources in a wide variety of packaging sizes to ensure every product is placed in a box that is neither too large nor too small.

Going further, you also want to ensure that products are arranged properly inside their packaging. How items are placed inside boxes can significantly affect the amount of space they need. For instance, some products are better placed vertically than horizontally or vice-versa. 

Offer a “green shipping” option

Environmental awareness is rising among consumers. More and more customers are actively looking for greener options and would gravitate towards businesses that provide them. One such option is a “green shipping” option, a type of delivery that takes longer to arrive but with a much lower carbon footprint. 

You can partner with shipping companies known for practicing green logistics. For instance, DHL is a known frontrunner that uses a set of supply chain best practices while FedEx boasts a fleet of electric and hybrid vehicles for last-mile delivery.

In e-commerce, the faster your customers can deliver their orders, the better. A large majority of consumers still prefer to have their packages delivered as soon as possible, but more and more are becoming willing to wait longer if it means reducing their carbon footprint and paying less.

Deliver in bulk

It’s faster to ship products individually, as soon as the order is placed. However, this means more courier trips and more packaging used. You should instead consolidate orders, grouping multiple orders in a single package and shipping them out in one batch. This means lesser trips and fewer boxes used, which translates to smaller emissions and reduced waste.

Certainly, many customers aren’t too keen on waiting longer for their parcels, but businesses can encourage them to wait longer. Consolidating orders is more cost-efficient for businesses, which makes it easier for them to offer such a delivery option at a lower cost. This incentivizes the use of slower shipping options and helps businesses decrease shipping costs. It’s a win-win.

Conclusion

Shipping is a major contributor to carbon emissions and its contribution will only become bigger as the e-commerce industry continues to grow. However, this is only true if businesses refuse to follow eco-friendly practices. Going green is indeed easier said than done, but with so many options and incentives, there is little reason not to try. 

Related: 77 E-Commerce Statistics