Delivering Sustainability: Our Eco-Conscious UK Couriers
At Wayland Games, we are committed to embracing sustainability and encouraging our community to join us in adopting eco-friendly practices. We’ve recently heard about our shipping carriers’ amazing steps forward to greener, more sustainable delivery options, which we are excited to share with our customers.
Royal Mail
Royal Mail, which we use for our tracked 48 and tracked 24 shipping methods in the UK, is dedicated to offering sustainable services to customers and companies as part of their environmental goals. As a company, they have committed to achieving net zero by 2040, with four distinct pillars of sustainability to aid them in completing their goal.
85,000 posties walk up to a billion steps a day and deliver to around 32 million addresses. Nick Landon, Chief Commercial Officer at Royal Mail, explained that, in terms of parcel CO2e emissions, “Royal Mail’s ‘feet on the street’ network of postmen and women means we are the parcel carrier with the lowest carbon emissions”.
Zero Emissions Operations
Royal Mail have deployed 5,000 electric vans as of July 2023, honouring their pledge to use low and zero-emission vehicles for final mile deliveries, and are only looking to increase this number! They are always trialling new innovations for zero and reduced emissions deliveries, including drones for remote locations, micro electric vehicles and a programme to optimise on-foot deliveries with a van delivering to a central point, serving a number of posties on foot.
In fact, in August last year Royal Mail, in collaboration with Skyports Drone Services, launched a fully electric drone delivery service between three Orkney Islands! This is the first UK drone delivery project which can be conducted on a permanent basis due to the unique landscape of Orkney and the proximity of the islands to one another.
The weather and geography of Orkney can impact the ability to provide an uninterrupted delivery service. For example, pauses in the ferry schedule - by which some mail is transported - are common during poor weather due to the challenges of docking safely. The drone system significantly improves service levels and access for rural communities, significantly shortening delivery times to Graemsay and Hoy.
Royal Mail are hoping to expand this programme to other areas, so who knows - maybe someday your order will have a drone flight on its way to you!
Net Zero Operations
Operations represent 70% of Royal Mail’s emission profile, a sector that includes their domestic and international transport networks along with running many building estates. Their plans to reduce this include increasing the use of biofuels. This was highlighted in their announcement of the first deployment of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil as fuel for heavier trucks instead of diesel. Royal Mail also plans to increase their deployment of low-emission heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), reduce the use of air freight where possible and generate 100% renewable electricity in all buildings.
Making Circular Happen
Royal Mail aims to reduce their overall waste and material production by increasing recycled content, recycling more materials in their products and driving behaviours that help to support a circular economy. They are targeting a 25% reduction in total waste generated by 2030 and to increase their percentage of waste recycled each year - last year, they recycled 77% of all waste produced.
Collaborating For Action
The company is trying to harness its size, scale, and reputation to play a positive role in delivering a low-carbon future for the entire delivery industry, both within the workforce and the supply chain.
DPD
We use DPD for expedited shipping and for deliveries outside the UK, and they are winning all sorts of awards in the sustainability field! In November of 2023, DPD was awarded the CiTTi Last Mile Delivery Award, which recognises innovation in harnessing the power of technology to optimise service, reduce cost, and deliver the most sustainable solution overall. DPD was nominated for their focus on sustainable deliveries, from increasing the number of electric vehicles they have on the road to robot deliveries being scaled up to 10 new towns and cities.
Net Zero
DPD have a few key actions they are focusing on to achieve their net-zero goal by 2040. They are aiming to electrify the first and last mile delivery fleet along with diversifying the fleet to include alternative options such as biogas, biofuel, electric and hydrogen-powered trucks. Their operational buildings will be switching to 100% renewable energy for both gas and electricity to accelerate their decarbonisation pathway. They currently have over 3500 electric vehicles in their delivery fleet, allowing them to have made nearly 8 million green deliveries in the first two months of 2024, meaning a giant saving of 2,201 tonnes of CO2.
Evri
Evri handles our deliveries to Europe, and has a huge target of being net zero by 2035 for both direct and indirect emissions. They have achieved a 10% reduction of carbon per parcel since last year and have reduced their operation carbon footprint by almost a third in the last two years.
Operations
Eco-features are an important part of Evri’s plan to reduce carbon emissions across their infrastructure of hubs, depots and delivery units. Their flagship 55-acre ‘superhub’ at Barnsley, which opened in 2022, includes solar panels, rain harvesting and acoustic bunds to help reduce noise pollution. There’s also a substantial biodiversity area to support local wildlife, and they’ve planted more than 25,000 new trees and hedgerows.
In other areas, their Rugby hub features transparent roof sections to increase natural lighting and LED lighting throughout to save energy. There’s a rainwater harvesting system and around 77% of waste is recycled. This is an impressive dedication to reducing emissions at every level!
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Here at Wayland Games, we are always striving to become more environmentally friendly, and choosing to partner with eco-conscious UK couriers is just one step on our green journey! Keep checking in with us on our blog or follow our Linkedin profile to keep up-to-date on the latest news from Wayland Games Limited.
