Sesam Homebox with Study on Sustainability in Package Delivery

Sesam GmbH, manufacturer of package boxes, has published a study on sustainability in package delivery. Involved were the Efficiency Agency NRW efa+ and the Chair of Sustainable Logistics at TH Nürnberg. The study shows possibilities for reducing CO2 emissions by up to 50 percent.

(Marl) What is the true CO2 footprint of parts of today’s package delivery? This question is what the current study on the sustainability of various delivery forms aims to answer. To validate the results, the Efficiency Agency NRW efa+ and the Chair of Sustainable Logistics at TH Nürnberg were asked to collaborate. In the study, ten cases, including the triggered secondary trips with cars to pick up or return packages at package shops and parcel stations, are compared by consumers and analyzed based on their CO2 emissions. Not only the CO2 emissions caused by the vehicles of the logistics providers need to be reduced, but the total CO2 emissions triggered by B2C shipments as well. The study outlines possibilities to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 50%.

Future Infrastructure of Package Delivery

So what could the infrastructure of future package delivery look like, and how can local retail participate in all these changes? Alternative handover points for packages, such as parcel stations and package shops, are generally considered environmentally friendly. However, the study on the sustainability of delivery forms now shows: They generate significantly more traffic than other delivery forms, causing even more CO2 emissions and further exacerbating traffic congestion in our city centers. The calculations regarding the CO2 emissions of different delivery forms on the last mile are not only surprising in their magnitude but have also highlighted a previously overlooked problem: The secondary trips triggered by package shops and parcel stations with private cars are theoretically expected to rise to 10,000,000 trips per day. However, these could almost entirely be avoided through other delivery options.

Delivery to the End Recipient Often Not Easy

Whether it’s a single household in an apartment complex or a single-family home resident in a residential area – it is often not easy to receive the expected package on time or to find it after “delivery to neighbors.” The housing industry and ultimately every individual consumer can have a significant impact on the CO2 footprint of today’s package logistics – by installing package boxes directly at our apartments or houses. Package boxes guarantee easy, contactless, and secure delivery. However, this infrastructure issue can only be solved in the long term – therefore, we must start today. The CSU in Munich has put it nicely: “Packages must come to the consumer, not the other way around” and suggests placing package boxes at or near the residence to relieve the city center of Munich.

To the Study

Photo: © Sesam www.sesam-homebox.de