How to Reduce Carbon Footprint of Doorstep Deliveries
Hope McGee
In 2024, the International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO) was asked by government partners to explore how policymakers could help to reduce the carbon emitted during the last mile of a parcel’s delivery journey.
As part of this work, the observatory held an exploratory roundtable with cross-departmental academics at UCL to identify areas for policy action. Following this, we hosted a broader roundtable with representatives from across the freight and delivery landscape, which fed into a systems map to guide our thinking on this subject.
This paper explores the trends contributing to the demand for doorstep delivery, how a high volume of goods travelling by road damages our environment, and what policy options are available at the local, national, and global level to set this unsustainable trajectory on a better course.
The UK has the third-largest online shopping market in the world and a fragmented logistics market. The pandemic spurred our reliance on doorstop deliveries, which has led to an increased number of delivery vehicles on the country’s roads. These shopping habits are leading to more road congestion, rising carbon emissions, and a likely increase in the number of road accidents.
While local authorities are essential to shaping the built environment and establishing the infrastructure needed to support more sustainable delivery options, from installing more parcel lockers to building consolidation centres, national action is also essential to shifting the trajectory of the system itself.
IPPO’s systems mapping suggests that improving the outlook for the UK environment and economy requires coordinated action at all levels, from influencing consumer behaviour towards choosing more eco-friendly options via improved public messaging, and tax incentives, to promoting better business practices by mandating inter-industry collaboration and increased data sharing.
While this is a significant challenge for politicians, policies that help shift consumption towards a more locally based shopping culture could have long-term positive impacts for building social capital within communities, growing economic resilience, and increasing the country’s tax base.
Please find our report here.