Earth Friendly eCommerce Order Fulfillment

Happy Spring! And Happy Earth Month!

I love this time of year. When the world comes back to life for those of us in a temperate climate! As we watch the grime of winter wash away and the flowers pop up in Colorado, I thought I would take a few moments to reflect on Earth Month and how those of us in the eCommerce industry can do our part. Of course, our focus will mostly be on eCommerce Order Fulfillment but we will also take a moment to discuss business in general.

The good news is that there is a lot that you can do. In this blog, I will link back to my prior blogs and posts on a variety of Earth friendly topics and also add any new updates or ideas.

Packaging

In last year’s blog on this topic, we discussed important factors such as picking the right fit packaging, keeping things simple, and selecting the right packaging. This year we have seen more of our customers move to recyclable packaging because prices are coming down. While we expect packaging prices overall to go up due to tariffs, the cost of recyclable packaging has come down and we are often finding comparable priced options and sometimes even cheaper options!

Packaging Void Filler

Last year we offered 4 tips to reduce the carbon footprint of your packaging void filler on our Instagram and Facebook pages with the hashtag #gogreenwithkey. We advised against traditional peanuts and other styrofoam, which are a petroleum based. This year we have become fond of corrugated paper bubble wrap for fragile items. However, I must note that we always recommend using perfect fit packaging so you don’t need much filler!

Shipping

Last year we shared a blog with five tips to go green with your shipping. One of the most important tips we offered was to ship ground whenever possible. Jets use way more fuel per mile than trucks do. We also mentioned carbon credits in the blog. While carbon credits do have their challenges, all three major private shipping carriers are now offering them and DHL has been the most proactive in implementing the credits through their GoGreen program.

The US Postal Service does not offer carbon credits but they now have a program business customers can use to track their carbon emissions, which is called the BlueEarth Carbon Accounting Service.

Business Operations

How do you run a low carbon eCommerce business? Well, the answers lie in the details. Yes, you can buy offsets for your energy use and select vendors that share your values. Those steps are important and you can find them in thousands of blogs and articles. However, as I reflect on the advice I gave a year ago, I realize that one of the most important things we can do often goes unmentioned.

Running a low carbon business truly lies in the details. For example, it means printing less and printing on both sides of the page. It means turning the lights off when you leave the room, working from home when you can, and combining errands when you must drive to conduct business. These little steps can sometimes feel meaningless and yet when we do them we are setting a new standard. If we all did them they would change the world!