Environmental, social and governance (ESG) programs have moved from the margins to the mainstream. Today, most publicly traded, venture- and private equity-backed organizations and privately owned companies have some form of environmental, social and corporate governance program. The number of companies voluntarily reporting data from their ESG efforts has skyrocketed from 35% to 86% between 2010 and 2021, according to researchers from Harvard Business School, Rice University, and Kellogg School of Management.1
While the remarkable rise of ESG initiatives has the potential to positively influence every part of how a retailer operates, it also leaves them scrambling to determine how to best improve sustainability management and ethical practices.
Acknowledging the challenges of ESG programs
ESG programs are necessarily multifaceted, even within each vertical. For the environmental aspect, they incorporate targets ranging from reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and investing in sustainable energy to implementing corporate recycling programs and reducing other waste across the supply chain.
And what makes them even more challenging: No definitive rulebook exists to explain what types of ESG goals a company should set, how to set them, or how to track progress.
In a review of 50 global companies and their ESG goals, Sustainable Brands discovered that only 74% of total ESG goals had specific dates and strategic targets.2 In other words, there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
To set ESG goals and deadlines, you need more than the right resources and expertise — you need data. It’s through data that you’ll understand your own ESG position, track growth over time and establish the transparency, trust and accountability that are vital to communicating ESG goals.
The performance information you gather is also key to ESG reporting. Through these reports companies disclose their ESG performance, risks and opportunities to provide stakeholders — customers, investors, board members, employees, regulators and community members — with visibility into how their organization operates.
Some of the ESG data you should measure and report may seem obvious: energy and water usage, GHG emissions, recycling programs, and renewable energy efforts, for example. But other datasets may not be so transparent. For example, to accurately report on carbon-reduction strategies and progress, retailers should disclose information about the vehicles their delivery partners use and the delivery routes they follow. Without this information, you can’t paint a clear picture of carbon emissions.
The value of last-mile delivery data
According to Capgemini research, providing last-mile services accounts for 41% of overall supply chain costs, which is more than twice the cost of any other category.3 As retailers prioritize ESG initiatives, there’s a pressing need to rethink the approach to last-mile logistics — not only from an environmental perspective, but also a financial one.
One of the best ways to shrink the carbon footprint of the last mile has been finding ways to not drive at all. Optimizing routes to drive less miles has been a primary goal for many transportation software users not only for its ability to lessen environmental impact, but also to save on fuel and reduce vehicle wear. One of the more famous efforts in this vein was the implementation of UPS’s “No Left Turns” policy, which ultimately proved to reduce miles driven. UPS’s ORION technology also managed to reduce mileage driven by its trucks.
Many companies will accomplish this by relying on electric vehicles (EVs) instead of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles for last-mile delivery. Historically, however, taking this step has required large investments in EV fleets or costly partnerships with carriers that offer green delivery services.
Crowdsourced delivery has expanded the available options for sustainable last mile services. By partnering with the right logistics management platform, retailers can batch orders and send them out on optimized routes to minimize miles driven. Even better, senders may easily and affordably grow their EV delivery options in response to consumer demand — without having to own, maintain or manage their own EV fleet.
For example, retailers that tap into the Roadie national network of independent drivers can access environmentally efficient EV and hybrid vehicles for last-mile logistics to achieve ESG goals while responding to consumer desires for fast and sustainable delivery options. And Roadie’s industry-verified reporting methodology and metrics allow its users to accurately track carbon emissions and better understand the impact of reduction strategies.
Roadie’s sustainable crowdsourced EV and hybrid vehicle delivery option, Roadie Green™, helps retailers meet ESG goals and support reporting strategies by making it simple to access and disclose the data and metrics surrounding last-mile delivery. Senders can easily access the information needed to measure and report progress toward ESG goals for proper disclosure and transparency. Roadie Green™ can even customize the carbon emissions reporting based on what a company, investors or customers want to see.
Working together to achieve a green last mile
Delivering faster, more sustainable last-mile delivery options while managing business costs can be a big differentiator for retailers as they work to balance sustainability with rising consumer expectations.
But achieving sustainable last-mile delivery is a difficult task to accomplish on your own without significant investments. Instead, it takes people and organizations working together in innovative ways to pave a new path.
By leveraging access to EV and hybrid vehicles through a crowdsourced delivery platform, you can reduce your organization’s carbon footprint, deliver excellent customer experiences, minimize risk and meet aggressive ESG goals to make your operations more sustainable.
1. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4227934