Sustainable Ecommerce: Minimizing Carbon Footprint 

Read on to find out about a few of the best ways to become a more sustainable e-commerce business.

Whether you are a new or established e-commerce business, becoming more eco-friendly and sustainable isn’t as tricky as you may think. Here are a few changes you can make to help do your part in protecting the environment.

Packaging

The first thing you should look at is your packaging. In this day and age, countless tons of plastic is thrown away from products, yet it is quite easy, and affordable for businesses to change this.

Eco-friendly packaging comes in a variety of forms, ranging from simple cardboard boxes, to recycled packaging peanuts used for protection. Not only is this better for the environment, but there are also plenty of suppliers offering this type of packaging at affordable prices.

Sustainable Product Choices

Next, analyze how you can make your products themselves more eco-friendly. The Body Shop, for instance, sells many of its body washes and creams in containers that can be brought back to their stores and refilled at a discount.

While this may not apply to you and your business, it is a quick example of how changing your product itself can easily transform into something that people won’t or can’t throw away or recycle.

Improve Software/Platform

While this may sound like a small thing, updating your software, selling platform, and computers can help you be more eco-friendly, by using less electricity. Older systems and software may not be able to keep up with the work you are doing, and, therefore, use more power as they are not designed for your current needs.

Updating your software and hardware ensures you are using the minimum amount of power you need, which subsequently saves you money on your bills, and lessens the effect on the environment.

Limit the Use of Paper

Another change you can make that will also save you money is to simply go paperless. With email and text messaging, there is no need to print out receipts or order forms, as it can all be done and transferred online.

Change How You Deliver

Deliveries also have an impact on the environment, and there are a few things you can do to lessen the impact. Firstly. Adapt your delivery times to limit the amount of delivery vehicles you need to use, and how often they need to travel. If you use a postal service, send all your orders in bulk once or twice a week, instead of every day.

Secondly, pay attention to how you pack your goods and delivery trucks, to ensure you can fit as many as possible in one vehicle. Once again, this will limit the amount of times they need to go out on the road.

Eco-Friendly Deliveries

If your business handles its own deliveries, you can also opt for more eco-friendly methods of delivery. For instance, when delivering to a location that is close to your warehouse, you can use bicycles instead of cars.

Promote Bulk Purchases

Another thing you can do is promote bulk purchases. If you sell something that needs replacing every few weeks, encourage customers to purchase more than one which, once again, limits the amount of times you need to send out deliveries.

Limit Returns

Limiting the amount of returns you receive can also help curb the environmental damage done by vehicles. Ensuring your products remain undamaged, and offering clear and concise product information, can limit how many returns you get.

Damaged Goods Discounts

There will often be times when you have damaged goods or products that don’t reach your standards. But instead of throwing them out and allowing them to end up in a landfill, you can still put them up for sale, but at a discounted rate.

If a customer doesn’t mind that the packaging is torn or there is some defect that doesn’t affect the product, selling it at a discount ensures you don’t have to throw it away.

Monitor Your Supply Chain

While this step can take a lot of time and research, doing a supply chain audit can help you understand where you can become more eco-friendly. More often than not, you will simultaneously find ways to save money without sacrificing quality.

A small example would be seeing how often and when you receive goods at your warehouse or delivery hub. If you are ordering products every day, changing your systems to order larger amounts, but less frequently, does make a difference to the environment.

Track Your Emissions

Finally, you can also do an emissions audit. If you have an office, for example, this would involve seeing how much water, electricity, and gas you use, and subsequently find ways to limit their usage.

While this may sound like something that won’t make a big difference, especially if you are a small team or work in a small space, you may be surprised by how many improvements could be made.

In conclusion, becoming more eco-friendly isn’t necessarily difficult, but it does take time and will require changes. However, the long-term difference you will make cannot be understated, and the more companies that choose this route, the better off we and the world around us will be.