We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • SUBMISSIONS
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • CSCMP EDGE 2022 Startup Alley
    • Upload your video
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • Reflections
      • SCQ Forum
    • Mobile Apps
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
  • STRATEGY
  • GLOBAL
  • LOGISTICS
  • MANUFACTURING
  • PROCUREMENT
  • VIDEO
    • News & Exclusives
    • Viewer Contributed
    • CSCMP EDGE 2022 Startup Alley
    • Upload your video
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • White Papers
    • Webcasts
    • Events
    • Blogs
      • Reflections
      • SCQ Forum
    • Mobile Apps
Home » E-commerce fuels sustainability goals

E-commerce fuels sustainability goals

Accelerated online buying is pushing companies to implement electrification, efficiency, and eco-friendly materials in supply chains, DHL research shows.

glo-press-text-generic-placeholder-responsibility-gogreen.web.1592.896.jpg
June 7, 2021
Supply Chain Quarterly Staff
No Comments
E-commerce is changing approaches to sustainability in the United States—especially in the supply chain, where companies are investing in electrification, efficiency, and eco-friendly materials, according to research from express delivery and logistics firm DHL, released June 3.

Researchers say the rapid growth of e-commerce is yielding immediate opportunities to reduce emissions in the supply chain while also challenging retailers, logistics companies, and policy-makers to collaborate on ways to address environmental issues. The DHL/Morning Consult survey of U.S. consumers was conducted in May, and findings were released in a white paper titled “ECO-mmerce: How online retail can build the sustainable supply chain of tomorrow.”

More than half of respondents (54%) said their online shopping habits increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the majority (60%) said they are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products and services. What’s more, 54% said they put more trust in a company based on its public commitments to environmental sustainability, listing carbon emissions, green energy, waste, alternative fuels, and sustainable packaging as the five most important factors in helping the environment.

Researchers said the survey results reflect the influential role supply chain sustainability will play in the competitiveness of e-commerce businesses in the future.

“E-commerce is fundamentally reshaping our customers’ supply chains, challenging them to redesign their transportation and warehousing networks in order to accommodate customer demand across multiple channels, address changes in trade and inventory flows, and be more responsive to the market,” Kraig Foreman, president of eCommerce, DHL Supply Chain North America, said in a statement announcing the release of the white paper. “At the same time, [we] see this as a historic opportunity to build more sustainable supply chains from the bottom up, by reengineering processes with efficiency and emissions reductions in mind, taking advantage of new, greener technologies at all stages of the order cycle, and exploring innovative ideas in areas such as packaging and the circular economy.”

The white paper examined five segments of the e-commerce supply chain researchers said are most exposed from a sustainability perspective: the last mile, the first and mid-mile, warehousing, packaging, and returns. Results revealed three areas that are likely to have the greatest potential impact on those segments: cleaner energy, via more electrification of transportation fleets and warehousing operations; increased efficiency, supported by data and technology; and eco-friendly materials, particularly in packaging.

“E-commerce is already having a net positive impact on the environment compared to traditional retail in a number of areas, such as replacing multiple passenger car trips with single round trips with delivery vans, and accelerating investments in greener transport and warehousing technologies,” according to the report. “In other areas, the potentially negative impact of some trends, such as a proliferation of smaller warehouses closer to customers, is being offset by other effects such as the optimization of retail networks and the introduction of greener energy supplies and automated equipment.”

The white paper follows DHL’s updated commitment to sustainability, announced in March. The company’s new “sustainability roadmap” reiterates its goal to achieve net zero transport-related emissions by 2050 and outlines goals in several areas, including: an approximately $8.5 billion investment in green solutions; expansion of its fleet of electric vehicles to 80,000 worldwide; and plans to increase the share of sustainable fuels used in its long-haul transportation by 2030.

The white paper was produced with the support of FINN Partners’ Global Supply Chain, Logistics & Transportation Practice, and incorporates insights from executives of DHL’s express, supply chain, and e-commerce business units in the United States.
Logistics
KEYWORDS DHL
  • Related Articles

    Demand for inventory, e-commerce fuels long-term outlook for logistics real estate

    Holiday peak season could be snarled by capacity shortage as pandemic forces e-commerce spike

    LaserShip fuels national ambitions by naming Home Depot exec as CEO

Recent Articles by Supply Chain Quarterly Staff

Energy price swings pressure businesses to change their spending priorities

Maersk’s VC arm backs inventory drone startup Verity with $32 million

Survey: most Americans unaware that truckers face shortage of parking spaces

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Survey: most Americans unaware that truckers face shortage of parking spaces

  • Best practices in logistics sustainability

  • Postal Service plans to seize items mailed with fake stamps

  • Supply chain executives not yet seeing expected results from technology investments

  • Inflation drops again as interest rate hikes hit home, NRF says

Featured Video

20221107korber large vs

Enhancing Customer Experience with Your Supply Chain Strategy

Viewer Contributed
With the rise of e-commerce, many businesses have had to transform their warehouses to handle online orders in addition to regularly scheduled inventory shipments. This means warehouses need more information than ever before to ensure they can meet customers' needs. As a result, companies need to select warehouse...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Guide to Pallet Rack Safety

  • 3PLs: Complete Orders Faster with Flexible Automation

  • A shipper's guide to navigating post-pandemic holiday freight

  • THE NEW WAY TO WAREHOUSE: 4 Innovations in Automation & Robotics to Boost Warehouse Productivity

View More

Subscribe to Supply Chain Quarterly

Get Your Subscription
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • E-NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing