Recent data shows that 22% of Americans receive a package on a daily basis, and 57% do so each week.
The Circuit survey of 1,000 people also indicated that rural populations were most likely to receive a package daily, with 29% of daily packages going to this segment.
“For most consumers, delivery was all about convenience, with 54% naming it as their top reason for ordering online,” the report said. “Other common reasons, like being too busy to go out (34%), too tired to go out (30%), occupied with children (22%), and stressed from work (19%) also echoed the convenience of delivery.”
In general, 55% of respondents said receiving a package made them happy.
All those packages, though, come with an environmental cost. ShippingEasy is out to lessen that societal impact, launching the Greenest Way to Ship initiative. Under the program, ShippingEasy will cover the cost of small business merchants to offset the carbon emissions of packages shipped during the peak holiday season.
They are not the only ones making news with carbon neutral shipping. Sendle, which is a Certified B Corp shipping solution, recently announced that its100% carbon-neutral shipping offering was now officially Climate Neutral Certified.
Climate Neutral is a nonprofit organization that helps brands measure their carbon footprint and implement strategies that reduce their footprint to zero. This is achieved by measuring greenhouse gas emissions, purchasing eligible verified carbon credits to offset that footprint and implementing plans to reduce emissions next year and beyond.
Sendle taps into existing shipping networks to help carriers fill their vehicles to improve utilization of the entire network. To date, the company said it has offset 25 billion miles of package delivery. Sendle also invests in carbon offsetting, engaging in projects from South Pole that help regenerate ecosystems, protect habitats and support indigenous communities.
“Currently, the transportation and logistics industry is responsible for 17% of greenhouse gas emissions globally,” Veena Harbaugh, director of sustainability at Sendle, said. “Reducing the harm of shipping on the planet has always been a top priority for us, so we have been committed to making our shipping network 100% carbon neutral from day one. We are now extending that commitment to carbon neutrality to everything we do, and achieving this certification is another step in our journey to becoming net zero by 2030 and continuing to work towards a more sustainable industry overall.”
Climate Neutral’s certification builds on internationally recognized standards for carbon measurement and neutrality. All certified brands must measure cradle-to-customer greenhouse gas emissions each year to maintain certification. Then a brand must buy eligible verified carbon credits to compensate for all of their emissions, directing investment into critical projects that remove and avoid emissions from energy, industry and natural systems. Finally, brands must commit to reduction action plans to cut future emissions within a 12- to 24-month timeline, reporting progress on those plans annually.
ShippingEasy is also working with South Pole on its program.
“At ShippingEasy, our goal is to help merchants successfully start and run their ecommerce businesses. I’m very proud to share that now we can also help merchants go carbon-neutral during their busiest season,” said Chris Vaughn, general manager of ShippingEasy. “We value sustainability at ShippingEasy and are proud to offer this value as an embedded feature to our merchants and their end customers.”
For each shipment placed through The Greenest Way to Ship, ShippingEasy will calculate its carbon impact based on the distance the shipment will travel and its mode of transportation. Then, ShippingEasy will purchase a corresponding carbon offset from The Dempsey Ridge Project, a zero emissions, grid-connected, wind energy source in Oklahoma.
The program will run through Jan. 12, 2023.
