Petter Palander from Stockholm-based Aimabel visited Gordon and presented his new report on the climate impact of different delivery options. For Gordon, the analysis confirms the strategy on which we have built our business: smart home delivery is both sustainable and efficient.
Aimabel is a company that combines deep sustainability expertise with AI and data-driven insights to help businesses measure progress and drive real systemic change. In a report earlier this year, they analyze the actual climate impact of various delivery options, taking the entire transport chain into account.
When the entire transport chain is counted for, home delivery becomes the most sustainable option
In its analysis, Aimabel shows that home delivery has a lower carbon footprint than, for example, pick up from lockers. This is because the customer's own journey to a collection point otherwise contributes to significant emissions. When it comes to calculating climate impact, this transport distance is often omitted, which means that the sustainability benefits of home delivery are easily underestimated.
On average, a customer drives 3.8 kilometres to pick up a parcel, 86% of them in a fossil fuel-powered car. When the same parcel is delivered via an optimised home delivery route a single trip can serve many recipients. This means that the actual driving distance per parcel drops to just 760 meters on average — a reduction in emissions of up to four times compared to retrieving the parcel yourself.
Increased transparency enables decisions that make a difference
Many players neither report nor account for the customer’s emissions when comparing delivery models.
– One observation we made during the report was that many frameworks fail to capture all important emission sources or differences, says Petter Palander.
By including the entire chain, from seller, warehouse, and transport to the customer’s journey, a transparent picture is formed that helps the consumer make informed choices that truly make a difference for the climate.
