Being green is a matter of daily choices, but also of attention to detail, especially when one goes into continuous improvement and progressive approach to a truly green lifestyle (or business). environmentally friendly. An achievement that is made in small steps, day by day. An important topic in this regard is transport, and in particular the green choice of sustainable home deliveries, which are destined to become more and more sustainable, also thanks to the push from customers who are attentive to this aspect.

 

green choices sustainable deliveries Green delivery services

Looking at the crucial issue of green delivery, some trends should be considered:

- Home delivery grows
- Some big brands have made radical green transport choices
- Consistency alert: watch out for green wash risk
- Drones have failed
- The future: are robots science fiction?

Green delivery services: the last mile is strategic

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The issue concerns companies as much as users.
These - statistics aside, it is plain for all to see - are increasingly inclined to receive their purchases at home, be it online shopping or using services with “home delivery”, which in times of pandemic have developed exponentially. Cities are certainly not new to the panorama of entire fleets of vehicles of all sizes, but recent years have seen a proliferation of increasingly green vehicles.
At first, they had something quaint and whimsical about them, as a revival of means of transport from bygone days, but then bicycles made a comeback, even in rickshaw, electric or pedal version, right up to the “riders”, a real social phenomenon.
Finally, companies have sprung up that specialise in green deliveries, using exclusively electric vehicles, ideal for traffic-restricted areas in city centres.
A brand that wants to aim at making environmental sustainability a recognised value among its customers should therefore seriously consider its home delivery mode, which represents the last mile of the entire transport system.
It is an aspect that is important because it makes visible, concrete, the company's commitment to reduce emissions and thus lighten the overall impact of its product. Home delivery

Big brands lead the way

These are global companies, but above all capable of making strong choices, which become material for institutional communication based on true founding principles.
The global e-commerce giant has announced plans to electrify its entire home delivery fleet (a cornerstone of its business model, on which it bases its fortune) and is working to revolutionise the very concept of logistics, in a digital key.
L'Oréal Italia launched the “Green Deliveries” initiative” in the city centres of 8 Italian cities (Milan, Turin, Pavia, Bergamo, Vicenza, Belluno and Rome): the delivery of products to more than 1,000 points of sale (for a total of more than 10,000 deliveries per year) will take place exclusively on electric vehicles and bicycles.
It is estimated that around 13 tonnes of CO2 will thus be saved.

ZTL, electric fleets and packaging

It is not only the demand for home deliveries that is increasing. Throughout Europe, inner-city traffic-restricted zones and low-emission zones (LEZs) are growing in size, in step with citizens' awareness of urban pollution. Online shopping and home delivery should no longer be alternatives to air quality. Consequently, vehicle manufacturers are also adapting, presenting the market with new ranges of electric vehicles with greater autonomy, which will make green deliveries possible even in large volumes and over a wider range.
Purchasing and usage behaviour has changed, and transport is also evolving. To optimise the costs of green deliveries, less bulky packaging is chosen, seeking a new balance between service and ecological footprint.

Watchword: consistency

 
A brand moving in a green direction must have a 360-degree view of sustainability, and move with firm consistency in all its choices in this regard.
The case of riders, a new category of workers struggling to find fair treatment, has put the spotlight on the issue of social sustainability.
A non-socially sustainable company also meets with resistance in the stock market, as the case of Deliveroo's timid debut on the London Stock Exchange shows.
In the eyes of consumers, then, social respect is the other side of the coin of sustainability tout court.
To gain credibility, a brand must align itself with this value and be totally transparent.
Similarly, some solidarity projects have also extended their value of respect to the environment, opting for plastic-free packaging and electric transport. Riders and deliveries in urban areas

Have drones failed?

It caused a stir last year when another announcement was made - again by the e-commerce giant - about the possibility of moving deliveries by air, thus freeing the roads from the ever-increasing number of delivery drivers. Possible technically, less feasible in reality, where the complexity of low (very low) altitude fleets is unmanageable.
In addition to flight regulations, drones have literally crashed against the environmental impact as, based on some simulations, it is estimated that these multi-copter drones would use 10 times more energy than standard delivery vans, making them unacceptably inefficient.
In densely populated urban areas, electric vans therefore remain the most energy-efficient delivery option.

Science fiction robots

Urban Delivery Systems and Urban Air Mobility remain, however, a fascinating field of research, where remotely piloted vehicles could open up new scenarios, as yet only the stuff of science fiction.
Among the ground-breaking but still futuristic proposals is that of self-driving vehicles coupled with dog-like robot postmen.
Dogrobots would get out of the vehicles to deliver the parcels directly to the recipients.

Are we ready for this, or is a greeting exchanged with the postman or a messenger still welcome?

Urban delivery - air mobility

For us at Olivo Tappeti, the environmental awareness is very important, as our catalogue shows, with more than 80% of recyclable products and many more made from recycled materials, and lines in natural cotton. 

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