How Your Delivery Business Can Become More Sustainable

Turning your delivery business “green” isn’t just good for the planet, it’s good for your bottom line. More and more consumers are choosing sustainability over convenience and patronizing brands that do the same. Read on for four ways to start lowering your organization’s environmental impact while raising your profile as a leader in responsible business practices.

1. Ditch Cars and Trucks Where You Can

While it may not always be feasible — or safe — to send a delivery driver out on an electric cruiser bike instead of a gas-guzzling car, if you make local deliveries, consider embracing bikes, wagons and good old-fashioned walking. It sends a positive message to your clientele, hearkens back to a simpler time and can help you stand out from the increasingly crowded field of delivery services. Why be just another bookstore that offers home delivery when you can be the one with that memorably branded book wagon or fleet of retro bicycles?

At the opposite end of the technological spectrum, delivery drones are also an increasingly popular way to deliver goods while keeping emissions non-existent. Depending on your product and delivery area, bots can be a smart choice for sustainability.

2. Use Lightweight Containers

Even if you make the switch to bikes, drones or deliveries on foot, opting for lighter-weight packaging materials can still decrease your environmental impact and monthly expenses. Think about it: That fat tire electric beach cruiser you send your lunch deliveries out on will get better mileage, use less power per month and experience less wear and tear all while carrying more food if it’s carrying that food in lightweight containers.

3. Reassess Your Delivery Routes

The fewer miles your drivers have to traverse, the better — not just for the planet but for your bottom line. Periodically reviewing your delivery routes can ensure that you continue to use efficient paths that allow drivers to make the most stops in the least amount of space.

Planning deliveries in advance can also reduce wasted resources. When you plan ahead, you can make sure that your delivery drivers are taking off with a full bike, backpack, or, yes, truck.

4. Cut Down on Waste

There’s more to sustainable delivery than lightweight boxes and switching from that beat-up conversion van to an electric tricycle for adults. For savvy shoppers, nothing is more annoying than having a small tube of lip gloss or bottle of hot sauce delivered in a massive box, 95% of which is wasted space. Investing in appropriately sized packaging reduces waste in consumers’ homes as well as wasted space in your warehouse, kitchen or storage space.

Inventory management is one of the most overlooked areas of inefficiency in a business, so the sooner you can take stock of your, well, stock, the better. Smaller containers means more orders on every delivery vehicle and a more efficient use of your warehouse. These factors, in turn, mean a decrease in environmental impacts (especially if you use carbon-producing vehicles) and an increase in profits no matter how your goods get from here to there.

Sustainable business practices are vital to the health of the planet. What’s more, embracing environmental responsibility has the power to grow your customer base. Take stock of the ways your organization can reduce wasted resources and power today to create a better tomorrow.