What is Carbon Footprint?
Your Carbon Footprint is the amount of Carbon released into the atmosphere through your day to day actions.
Ever wondered, what is the carbon footprint for ordering online?
Online shopping has changed the way we shop. Especially during pandemic, we worked from home, learnt from home and shopped from home. Many of us could not go to shops during lockdowns, so we relied mostly on online shopping. But what does online shopping mean for our environment. The majority of trucks that transport goods are powered by fossil fuels like diesel. That means the process of getting goods from warehouses to consumers involves pumping of large quantities of greenhouse gases into atmosphere.
Conventional Shopping V/S Online Shopping
Delivery to several homes would be better for the environment than several buses or several cars going to shops. But the issue is not that simple. While online shopping if items have to be returned or redelivered then the carbon footprint automatically goes up. In order to entice consumers, e-commerce websites provide super fast delivery. E-commerce websites provide numerous offers and provide super fast deliveries. Such deliveries lead to higher carbon emissions. The product being delivered determines its carbon footprint.
For example: A laptop will require more protective packaging than say a book, and it will therefore generate greater carbon emissions.
In 2018, an estimated 1.8 billion consumers worldwide bought goods online, generating e-retail sales of $2.8 trillion.
In 2021, this figure is expected to reach $4.8 trillion. Online shopping giant Amazon has revealed its corporate carbon footprint 44.40 million metric tons of CO2 emissions. Out of this, own delivery vehicle’s fossil fuels accounted for 4.70 million metric tons. Third party delivery, including packaging amounted to 13.89 million tons.
What is the way forward?
Obviously we cannot stop ordering online. Given the covid circumstances and restrictions, online shopping will continue to increase. But we have to work towards figuring out solutions. Governments, consumers and all other stakeholders have to work towards making online shopping more eco-friendly. E-commerce companies have to switch to electric vehicles from conventional trucks.
What is the difference between thermal or fuel based vehicles and electric vehicles?
The main difference is with the process of transforming potential energy into kinetic energy. In thermal vehicles energy is stored in chemical form and released through chemical reaction inside the engine. Whereas in electric vehicles it is released electrochemically without combustion, thanks to lithium ion batteries. For instance Amazon has announced that it will be ordering 100,000 electric delivery trucks from startup automaker Rivian.
Other online shopping websites should also make effort towards adopting electric vehicles. In conclusion best thing consumers can do is to advocate for improvements in corporate practice.
