Sustainable supply chain strategy: driving change

Supply chains have a significant carbon footprint. But there are lots of opportunities to reduce this to develop a more sustainable supply chain, and have an enormous impact on global sustainability efforts.

Strategies to improve supply chain sustainability

Many companies have created high level sustainability goals, but fewer have taken tangible steps to achieve them. 88% of companies have either created a clear mission statement around sustainability or they’re in the process of writing one, but only 52% have taken action and reduced their shipping miles.³

Reducing the last mile

For businesses, reducing their last mile in particular can reduce costs and help meet sustainability goals. This is because last-mile delivery accounts for 53% of the total cost of shipping – and 41% of total supply chain costs. With no interventions, we can expect a 32% jump in carbon emissions from urban delivery traffic by 2030.^** 

Learn more about reducing emissions in supply chains

Carbon emissions: online vs instore

A sustainable supply chain

Global supply chains are complex. Whether it’s setting goals, reducing the last mile, or changing shopping behaviour – everyone can play a role in creating a more sustainable supply chain.

Retailers:

• Educate consumers on the value of consolidating deliveries
• Entice consumers to choose in-store fulfilment
• Transform supply chains and store networks to include dark stores, partial dark stores, and/or market fulfilment centres.⁵

Delivery companies:

• Put data at the heart of the operations to prioritise new green practices
• Explore partnerships and ways to invest in shared assets
• Electrify the delivery fleet with purpose-built, last-mile vehicles.⁵

Governments:

• Align sustainable last-mile strategy with economic stimulus and jobs
• Support and promote green transport initiatives
• Encourage the repurposing of urban spaces for local fulfilment.⁵

Consumers:

• Choose the greenest delivery option when possible
• Take advantage of incentives to bundle deliveries
• Consolidate trips to pick up parcels at local fulfilment centres.⁵

The question is not whether e-commerce or brick-and-mortar retail is better or worse for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is more about what decisions consumers, retailers, e-commerce and logistics stakeholders can make to minimise GHG emissions. There is something that everyone in the supply chain can do to help mitigate climate change.

James Scott, MIT Real Estate Innovation Lab.⁴

^* IEA (video)

^** World Economic Forum

³ Oxford Economics

⁴ MIT

⁵ Accenture

About Goodman insights

Explore more insights