Sustainability in E-Commerce: Strategies for Reducing Environmental Impact

E-commerce has changed not just how we shop but where and when. Two decades ago, we had almost no choice but to go to brick-and-mortar stores for just about everything; now, we don’t. Shopping has become a lot easier. 

Just one problem (which is actually a few problems all rolled into one): online shopping is also incredibly convenient for the environment, and it’s not all that sustainable. But let’s not get ahead of the story. When we talk about the “environmental impact” of e-commerce, how much are we really talking about?

Comprehending the Environmental Influence

There are several environmental downsides to e-commerce that companies need to consider:

• Increased Carbon Footprint: Shipping products—by air, in particular, but also by trucks on the road—generates a lot of greenhouse gases.
• Use of More Packaging: As more people shop online, they’re generating more packaging waste, which often winds up in a landfill.
• Consumption of Resources: E-commerce not only uses much more energy than traditional shopping but also eats up a lot of nature’s “capital”—that is, the Earth’s “resources” that are fast being degraded, not only by climate change but also by the incessant human demand for territory and the need for space to put our houses, stores, roads, and infrastructure.

Approaches to E-Commerce Sustainability

• Make Packaging More Sustainable

• Reduce the Size of Packaging: Tailor the packaging to the product so that the amount of material used and, by extension, wasted is kept to a minimum.
• Use Environmentally Friendly Materials: Whenever possible, opt for packaging that can either be recycled or that will degrade in some way so that it doesn’t languish in a landfill for the next several millennia.
• Pare Down Packaging: If you can’t quite get on board with the idea of envelope-pushing when you’re picking out packaging, then the next best thing is to make sure the amount of packaging you’re using is as close to “just what’s necessary” as you can get.

• Make Your Logistics More Efficient

• Put More Than One Order in a Box: If you’re using just the one box to pack and ship your orders, then you’re doing things more efficiently than a lot of firms. They’ll not only put just one order in a box, but they’ll also manage to stuff several different boxes into a single shipment. How you ask? They’re consolidating their orders and that reduces the number of deliveries being made, which is better for the environment. Slap a “way to go!” sticker on that box or something because you can feel good about what you’re doing.

• Promote Sustainable Products

• Push for the sustainable, eco-friendly products your business offers, and make sure your customers know about them.

• Offset the Carbon Emissions

• You can use a carbon calculator to figure out how much your business directly and indirectly contributes to CO2 emissions. Once you have that number, take the steps you need to offset it. Again, your business and your customers can make a difference. Carbon offsetting isn’t just about achieving neutrality; it’s about taking responsibility. Carbon offsetting is also a way to achieve environmental as well as social good. Businesses that offset their carbon emissions support environmental projects that would not be possible without the purchase of offsets.

For more information on sustainable e-commerce practices, visit CarbonClick.

The Role of Consumers

The push towards sustainability in e-commerce could not be more important right now. And it is a push to which consumers must lead. It is nice when businesses take the first step and pay for carbon offsets to try and reduce their substantial environmental footprint and do their part to slow down rising global temperatures. But we are still at a point where we have to beg for them to do so. Consumers, in the meanwhile, are not helpless in having to wait for corporate goodwill to take effect; consumers don’t have to throw up their hands and wait for the next business to reach into its pockets and purchase carbon-offset projects. Sustainable practices in the e-commerce world are not exclusive to businesses. Collectively, we can reduce the volume of delivery items and associated packaging waste. Consumers can contribute to an e-commerce business’s reduced environmental impact through simple, not-easily-come-by changes to their personal behaviour during the act of online purchasing.