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Sendle stated that its Australia's first 100% carbon neutral delivery service currently serves more than 1 million users worldwide and also helps them reduce their carbon footprint. In this question and answer, Veena Harbaugh, Director of Sustainability at Sendle, discusses the company's carbon neutral plan and its latest and more ambitious goal to achieve net zero carbon by 2030. She talked about the environmental impact of the shipping industry; how couriers can be more sustainable; and how to judge whether those who claim to be serious about reducing their carbon footprint are consistent with their words and deeds.

Waste 360: How does Sendle reduce its environmental impact?

Harbaugh: Sendle is a certified B company that uses existing transportation suppliers and fills in their vehicles to ensure that every trip is maximized, thereby reducing the environmental impact of transportation. 

In addition to what we do in our own operations, we also purchase carbon offsets to address the emissions of every package sent through the Sendle network. We calculate the maximum amount of carbon that can be generated by any package sent, which results in a carbon production figure. Using this figure as a guide, we use a portion of the cost of each package to fund sustainability projects. To date, Sendel has offset 18 billion miles of carbon.

Waste 360: Please tell us more about your carbon offset plan to achieve carbon neutrality.

Harbaugh: As part of this plan, we invest in global sustainable development projects through a partnership with Antarctica (a developer of emission reduction projects). This partnership allows us to support world-changing initiatives aimed at protecting and regenerating natural ecosystems, and we are excited to help restore endangered tropical rainforest habitats in the United States, Canada, and Australia. By doing this, we ensure that all Sendle onshore deliveries are 100% carbon neutral. 

In order to involve our community, we ask our small business customers and employees to choose the carbon offset projects they want Sendle to invest in. For example, we have selected four biodiversity and reforestation projects to provide support in 2022. They include:

Waste 360: As a parcel shipper, why are you so concerned about carbon neutrality?

Harbaugh: Transporting packages can cause pollution in terms of carbon emissions and packaging waste. Knowing that delivery trucks are an important contributor to climate change, our co-founders hope to offset the emissions generated by each package sent through the Sendle delivery platform through carbon, and take full responsibility for Sendle’s carbon footprint.

This is an industry-wide problem. For example, the prosperity of e-commerce has inadvertently exacerbated the climate crisis, the environmental awakening of the shipping and logistics industries is imminent, and the light and heavy trucks and aviation industries generate about 17% of global greenhouse gas emissions (GGE). , Railways and shipping. At the same time, the World Economic Forum estimates that by 2030, delivery vehicles around our cities will increase by 36%.

Waste 360: I know your goal is to go beyond carbon neutrality and strive for net zero by 2030. What is your approach, and how much impact do you think it can have?

Harbaugh: As part of our commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2030, we will use electric vehicles, network utilization, and engage customers in more sustainable choices, such as packet pickup and low-carbon delivery options.

Our goal of achieving net zero net worth by 2030 is a benchmark that enables the company to be 20 years ahead of the target set by the Paris Agreement, while further establishing Sendle as the preferred green shipping solution.

Sendle's net zero commitment was established in 2019 with 500 other B Corps, and now more than 1,000 B Corps have made commitments. This corporate community, which is legally responsible for all stakeholders and the environment, clearly demonstrates that how we achieve net zero is of the utmost importance. These companies are centered on historically marginalized communities around the world-these communities are currently being most affected by the devastating effects of climate change on the road to net zero emissions.

Waste 360: How much did you invest in achieving carbon neutrality? What exactly is it?

Harbaugh: In our home country, Australia, we launched Australia's first solar-powered electric delivery fleet together with one of our delivery partners. The solar panel array on top of the Sydney warehouse generates more than 600 kilowatts of electricity per day. The electricity produced by solar panels is seven times the electricity consumed by electric cars. The surplus power is returned to the grid and offset the power consumption of other distribution stations. We hope to initiate a similar program with one of our delivery partners in the United States in the near future.

Waste 360: What advice can you provide to stakeholders in the supply chain to enable them to work more efficiently and environmentally?

Harbaugh: Everyone can play a role in the ecosystem. Business owners who handle goods can reduce packaging waste by switching to sustainable and compostable packaging materials. 

Shipping companies can switch to electric fleets or convert to solar energy whenever possible. It is best to maximize the load of their vehicle-try to fill the vehicle as much as possible, rather than just use a few packages to get from A to B. These are other actions that companies can take:

Waste 360: How do you know which companies are seriously committed to net zero?

Harbaugh: In our industry, an easy way to determine which companies take net-zero commitments seriously is to see how they solve supply chain disruptions. If they promise to achieve net zero emissions by 2040 or 2050, but they are buying a fleet of cargo aircraft, then it is clear that they will expect to experience another decade of heavy pollution before they begin to meaningfully reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They pray that the cost of carbon removal will drop enough to make up for their current shortfalls in emission reduction and investment.

However, if they solve this problem through additional warehousing of on-site renewable energy, shifting demand to small businesses, or involving customers in climate-positive solutions, then they are seeking a meaningful path to achieve net-zero commitments. 

As electric vehicles and other technologies reach their financial inflection point, the untruthful pursuit of net zero is no longer just an unethical response to market failure. This is another type of business failure—change management problems and inability to innovate. In order to truly respond to the climate crisis and make commitments, companies and governments need to take responsibility and act today instead of next week, next year, or the next 10 years.

This article has been edited for length and process.

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