(Commonwealth Union)_ Up to 50% of all delivery-related carbon emissions are accounted for by the last mile globally. A study by grassroots environmental organization Stand.earth estimates that the last mile courier sector annually emits about 500,000 tonnes of CO2 in India, three million tonnes in Europe, and four million tonnes in the US.
Governments and companies have been forced to reconsider how they conduct business as usual due to climate change and its consequences on the environment. One of the main causes is carbon emissions, and there is a lot of awareness among consumers and businesses to pursue sustainable options. The COP26 summit, also known as the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, which was held in Glasgow, had as one of its main objectives for all nations a reduction in carbon emissions by the year 2050.
The unprecedented uptake of electric vehicles, according to a new IEA analysis, will slow the rate of growth of carbon emissions in 2022. The overall level of carbon emissions, however, doesn’t appear to be on the decline. This may be a result of the increased number of fossil fuel-powered vehicles on the road. E-commerce accounted for 20% of global retail sales in 2021. In 2025, it’s expected to be higher than a quarter. The number of packages, delivery personnel, and vehicles used to transport these goods all increase along with the growth of online sales.
In a separate study on last-mile delivery, the World Economic Forum predicted that by 2030, there will be a 36% increase in the number of global delivery vehicles in the top 100 cities to meet the rising demand of customers worldwide. As a result, there will be more fossil fuel-powered vehicles on the road, which will raise CO2 levels. Currently, many e-commerce, third-party logistics (3PL), and courier, express, and parcel (CEP) companies are looking to adopt the electric vehicle (EV) route to align with their sustainability goals, but it will take at least another decade for it to materialize due to factors like increased cost and regulations. So far, fossil fuel-powered vehicles are here to stay.
