Green delivery is on the rise​

Today, climate problems and their consequences are more and more numerous in the world. Hurricanes, tornadoes, cyclones, floods are now regularly hitting the whole world. Global warming is one of the major civilization problems of our time and many solutions are put in place every year to tackle it. Is the new model of goods transportation, the ecological delivery, part of the answer to this problem?

Ecological delivery: for a more responsible e-commerce

Who has never ordered a product on the internet? And who has never waited impatiently for it to be delivered on the doorstep just a few days later? The e-commerce sector, and that of parcel delivery by association, has been growing steadily for several years now and few people have not yet tried it.

Indeed, about 10 to 15% more parcels are delivered thanks to e-commerce every year. Between January and June 2020 alone, nearly 59.1 million orders were placed on the internet in Belgium.

Moreover, with the crisis that the world is still experiencing, it’s obvious to notice that the e-commerce and delivery sectors have benefited massively. Due to the closure of restaurants and non-essential stores and with the incentive of governments to reduce physical purchases, online sales of groceries, clothing and other "non-essential" goods have continued to increase in 2020.

As a result, in-store traffic may have been limited, but it came at the expense of the last-mile delivery sector. The logistics sector quickly had to take on a much larger number of deliveries, adding many vehicles to the already congested roads of the metropolises.

With the constant increase in the world's population and the environmental problems we are currently experiencing, it is normal to ask ourselves the question of mobility and transportation in the future. Indeed, some data have something to make us think about this problem:

The world population will reach 10 billion people in 2050.

Within 50 years, nearly 80% of the population will live in cities and their suburbs.

And more population means more vehicles to move around and more pollution concentrated in one place. The government will therefore have to think about adapting infrastructures and roads, but also about promoting "zero emission" mobility for both private and professional travel.

Fortunately, there are many ways to change one's travel habits: public transport, carpooling, shuttles, or even cycling, scootering and walking.

The delivery sector will also have to make some adaptations in its way of working and develop in short circuits. Other aspects can also be rethought: avoiding empty trips, optimizing loads, making the last kilometers more environmentally responsible.

Several urban logistics companies have understood this and have decided to develop ecological delivery for their customers. This is the case of the Brussels-based start-up Urbeez, which offers companies an innovative and dynamic delivery service. Urbeez couriers deliver to 19 municipalities in Brussels using electric cargo bikes to make more responsible, economical and faster deliveries than their motorized competitors.

When we think of the alternative of green delivery, we immediately think of the benefits it has for the environment or to relieve traffic congestion in the city, but these are far from being the only advantages to the implementation of a zero emission delivery. Indeed, the benefits of this type of logistics will also be felt in the long term.

1. Well-being of the population

Since 80% of the population will be concentrated in urban areas in the next 30 years, it is necessary to anticipate the cities of tomorrow so that they offer a good quality of life to their inhabitants. Rethinking the methods of transportation and delivery of goods will have a positive impact on the health and well-being of the inhabitants.

2. Preserving the planet for the future

The desire to pass on a better planet to their children has made many people sensitive to sustainable delivery solutions. The creation of car-free zones and pedestrian spaces or the development of bicycle paths are just a few of them. Thus, the ecological transition is gradually taking place in cities in order to better respect nature and slow down global warming.

3. Making tomorrow's generations responsible

The children of today are the adults of tomorrow. It is therefore essential to show them a good example by making them aware of the need to respect the environment. This awareness of the youth goes partly through a responsible delivery of their packages. In addition, it gives them a positive image of the companies that use it.

4. Adapting urban logistics to demand

Customers are increasingly looking for innovative, dynamic services that are attentive to their environmental impact. They will be quicker to turn to a company with a CSR (social and environmental responsibility) approach for the delivery of their goods.

5. Reduce noise pollution

Although we constantly talk about pollution due to greenhouse gases, we talk much less about the pollution that affects our ears. Yet, noise pollution can cause a number of health problems. Adopting a sustainable mode of transportation such as bicycle delivery reduces traffic noise in the city while adapting to new consumption patterns.

Green delivery is part of the new transport model and will quickly become the preferred method of transport of the future. With Urbeez, rethink the last links in your logistics chain to limit your impact on the environment. Request your free quote now.