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COP26 Environmental Conference

What are People Prepared to do About Their Environmental Principles?

Thursday, 28 October 2021

The COP26 Summit highlights some of the major targets that governments and businesses face with the increased global focus on moving to a “net zero economy” 1. To support reaching these goals, PACK & SEND, the UK’s largest specialist packer and international shipper has been running an environmental survey to get a greater view of their customer base’s outlook on sustainability and the environment.

The environmental survey results give a fascinating insight into consumers’ wishes for greener and more sustainable services – with 91% of customers stating their concern about environmental issues, and 70% wanting to use an eco-friendly shipper. The challenge of fulfilling carbon-neutral solutions arises when you consider the willingness of consumers to pay more for a sustainable service – with almost 20% of survey responders unwilling to pay more for greener deliveries, and most stating they would only choose an environmentally friendly alternative if the increase in cost was 10% or less. This is supported by a similar survey from 2020 by Trivium packaging – with 74% of customers polled stating that they would pay for more environmentally friendly packaging. However, only 25% were willing to pay up to 10% more2.

A recently published survey by the Foundation for Future Supply Chain (FFSC) and consultant Transport Intelligence (TI) has certainly called into question whether companies could do more. The survey found that of the 184 large logistics companies that took part, “just” 57% – 105 companies – measure and publish their carbon emissions data3. The UK government has recently stated its plans to set in law the world’s most ambitious climate change target, cutting emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels. For the first time, the UK’s sixth Carbon Budget will incorporate the UK’s share of international aviation and shipping emissions4.

So, what can we do in the logistics sector to take customers with us, considering their aversion to cost increases?

COP26 Environmental ConferenceMike Ryan, UK CEO of logistics franchise PACK & SEND, shares his insight into what can be done by logistic companies to tackle the climate crisis, “Communication is key. We have no choice but to continue to make changes for the good of the planet and partner with businesses willing to do the same. As we introduce new services, packaging and systems, we have to educate our customers – both private and business – on the reasons for those changes.”

“With COP26 on our doorstep, it is a huge reminder of our environmental duties in both packaging and shipping. Our shipping partners are making inroads to carbon offset and reduce emissions whilst we’re constantly searching for ways to do this ourselves. All our service centres have access to boxes, void fill, packaging materials and tapes that are up to 100% recyclable but there’s certainly more progress to make with our partners. Our overarching priority is to ensure our client’s goods arrive intact but we have a keen eye on how to ensure this in as an environmentally friendly way as possible,” said Malcolm McArdle, PACK & SEND Glasgow City franchisee.

1 COP26, 2021, Mission Statement

2 Trivium Packaging, 2020, Customer Survey

3 Foundation for Future Supply Chain, 2021, Survey

4 UK Government, 2021, Press release

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