Sustainable Shipping: How Businesses Can Make Shipping More Sustainable?


In recent years, sustainability has risen in its importance both for consumers and as a topic within businesses as they reassess their missions and values. If you’re looking for ways to make your business more sustainable, shipping is a great place to start.

Sustainable Shipping: How Businesses Can Make Shipping More Sustainable? Photo by  Kaique Ro cha . Shipping accounts for up to 3% of global emissions and 10% of transport emissions – which is about the same as aviation. It’s safe to say that greener shipping practices could greatly impact the planet’s health. While green shipping is a large part of practicing environmentalism, it’s important that it goes hand in hand with your company’s overall commitment to consistent sustainability. 

There are a few things to consider when approaching the subject of sustainable shipping that can help you move your company from standard practices to a greener future.

Remember Your Sizing

Whether you’re shipping in bulk or shipping individual orders, sustainability is all about cutting back on excess and avoiding waste. When you include excess material or ship things in boxes too big for their contents, what you’re really doing is wasting materials and resources. It’s important to assess the size of whatever item you’re shipping and tailor your materials to its size rather than shipping it in a box or packaging too large for it.

Find Eco-Friendly Filler

The filler is one of the most wasteful packaging materials in the shipping process. Being mindful of the filler you use could save you money and reduce your carbon footprint . If you’re shipping things inappropriately sized boxes, your need for filler will already be reduced. 

Things like styrofoam and packing peanuts are unhealthy for the earth, as they can’t be recycled and usually end up in landfills. Plastic bags and wrappings are also harmful to the environment , unnecessary, and don’t provide much protection or padding. However, using recycled paper such as old magazines and newspapers can be a great solution for your space-filling and product protection needs.

Find Recycled Packaging

Sustainable Shipping: How Businesses Can Make Shipping More Sustainable? Photo by  cottonbro . If you’re looking to go the extra mile, knowing the difference between recyclable materials and recycled materials is important , especially in shipping and packaging. Recycled packaging means that not only is the material capable of being recycled, but it already has. Simply using recyclable materials doesn’t ensure much about what will happen to those materials once that package has reached its destination, but using recycled material ensures that you’re continuing the cycle.

Ship in Bulk When Possible

If your company offers wholesale or ships large orders often, shipping in bulk can cut back on a lot of waste. From filler to...

Top