Insights

Save carbon, save costs: here’s how to make more sustainable choices for your e-commerce business

Companies are increasingly eager to adopt sustainable practices in logistics, both to contribute to environmental protection, and to respond to market and consumer demand. Failing to inject sustainability in your supply chain risks causing unnecessary environmental damage – and loss of sales.

But what is a sustainable supply chain and how do you make yours greener? We’ll explore how you can make green worldwide fulfillment your priority in three key areas: transport, warehousing and packaging.

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1. Transport

When it comes to e-commerce logistics, transport is the biggest contributor to carbon emissions. Rather than being intimidated by this, if you address your transport miles, this then becomes an opportunity to reduce your carbon footprint.

Specifically, the most carbon intensive part of your fulfillment will be delivering individual orders to end customers. The solution? Store your goods closer to your consumers. By decentralizing your fulfillment operations, you can make your deliveries more local, reducing the need for cross-border shipping. Lower last-mile carbon emissions thanks to local distribution centers? Yes! Faster and cheaper fulfillment too.

You can also reduce your carbon footprint in the inbound flows to your warehouses: if you plan and monitor your stock levels well, you can avoid having to use air freight to move stock and instead can rely on ocean or road freight. Again, greener, and also more efficient and cheaper.

Did you know?

With the most extensive list of fulfillment locations across the globe (take a look at them here!), e-commerce players can store their stock in all major markets.

With the DHL Fulfillment Network, you are offered a diverse choice of carriers in each market, so when selecting carriers you can choose those that offer more sustainable solutions.

Prevent unwelcome panics that require you to air freight stock! Instead, with our advanced inventory insights tool you can monitor stock levels, re-balance between locations and find the right re-order point for your goods.

2. Warehousing

This part of your logistics operations has less impact on your carbon footprint than transport, but there are nevertheless savings to be made.

Modern warehouses are increasingly designed to be carbon neutral, or low carbon. This is accomplished through sustainable construction practices, such as using recycled concrete and steel, eco-friendly alternatives to cement, and recyclable cladding.

Operational emissions can also be reduced when warehouses use greener sources of energy, while at the same time reducing energy use. Solutions include solar panels and battery storage, LED lighting, motion-sensor lighting, rainwater harvesting, EV charging points and smart energy meters.

Did you know?

We aim to leverage the latest technologies to have carbon-neutral operating buildings across our global real estate portfolio.

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3. Packaging

Here’s where ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ comes into play, giving you various options to suit your needs.

Reduce:
Keep your packaging compact and well sized for your goods. Don’t spend money shipping empty space!
Reuse:
Think about your filling material. Minimize its use by selecting well-fitting packaging and choose sustainable options like shredded paper instead of polystyrene chips.
Recycle:
Choose paper over plastic. Explore the excellent paper-based alternatives that are available and go one step further by choosing recycled paper over new, shiny options.

Did you also know?

The DHL Fulfillment Network can help customers choose the right packaging options for their products. You can also purchase your packaging through us, and benefit from DHL’s full purchasing power.

We strive to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2050 with ambitious interim targets to be achieved by 2030.

Talk to us today to find out what we can do for you!