LoginiParcelBox recently joined forces with the University of Hull’s Aura Innovation Centre to develop an online carbon footprint tool to help people make green choices when shopping online.
Over the last few years, online shopping has boomed. As e-commerce evolves and becomes more mainstream, it brings with it a number of challenges. Is it better for the environment to get our parcels delivered to our door, or to a pick-up point? Sometimes it’s hard to know which is the most sustainable option.
iParcelBox has worked with leading academics at the University of Hull to undertake carbon mapping of e-commerce deliveries, creating a calculator which gives both retailers and customers a fair and unbiased comparison of the carbon footprint of different online purchasing options, enabling buyers to make informed decisions as to which delivery method is the greenest.
The myparcel carbon calculator tool is now available for industry and customers to access at https://co2.myparcel.org.uk
Dave Dawson, Innovation Manager at the AIC, said: “The University of Hull has world-class expertise in logistics, so when Paul got in touch I knew there’d be academics who’d love to get their hands on such an innovative and fascinating project. We were able to secure funding for the project, which paid for the researchers’ time, and the result has been this fantastic online tool. Given the continued growth of online shopping, the potential for benefits to lowering emissions on deliveries could be a big contribution to meeting net zero targets.”
Paul Needler, CEO at iParcelBox, said: “It’s great that consumers will finally have access to a simple tool they can use to make informed decisions about how to minimise the emissions associated with parcel deliveries, backed up with EU-funded academic research. For a large proportion of the population, at-home delivery to a secure location such as iParcelBox could be the greenest option”
The e-commerce industry has previously suffered from a lack of reliable information for eco-conscious customers to use when considering how they get parcels delivered. This new tool will deliver accurate, unbiased data to give consumers information on which of the available delivery options will be best for the planet. This should help customers make an informed decision when it comes to home delivery, and could even start to cause behavioural change – something which can only be good for sustainability.
Please share this tool with your friends and family – they too may find that there’s a benefit to getting their parcels delivered to an iParcelBox!
