You may have heard the expression ’the last mile’. In the package delivery industry, this refers to the final stage when the package leaves a distribution center and reaches you.
Even though the distance traveled might be small compared to the overall journey, the last mile is the most polluting stage of the delivery process.
Why is this important?
E-commerce disrupted the way we shop and our love for it isn’t slowing down. More online shopping means many more delivery vehicles are on the road, driving and idling, which leads to more greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.
Thankfully, new ideas and solutions are already in the works to clean up this stage of the delivery process.
Delivery company Hived, based in London England, is focused on eliminating emissions from mass-market parcel delivery.
In addition, there are cities in North America such as Santa Monica and Montreal that are piloting zero-emission delivery zones while some cities in the Netherlands are aiming to ban fossil fuel delivery vehicles from urban areas starting as early as 2025.
What is happening in your city to create a cleaner last mile?