Reducing Carbon Emissions from Last-Mile Delivery Vehicles

When it comes to issues in fleet management like fuel usage, idle time and route optimization, we usually turn our attention to the benefits of telematics and GPS tracking through the lens of ROI, improving efficiency and customer satisfaction. After all, these are extremely important. But what about the carbon emissions impact of commercial vehicles?

What Fleet Managers Need to Know About Carbon Emissions

The carbon emissions of e-commerce delivery vehicles has been a concern for years now. With major players like Amazon using last mile delivery vehicles to complete delivery, the impact on our environment is increasing. It’s no surprise that companies are taking the initiative to reduce their carbon footprint.

On a path to net zero, companies are implementing an array of strategies like using electric and hybrid vehicles, optimizing routes and using environmentally friendly packaging. Adopting strategies like these early can enable carbon credits and government subsidies ample time to pay for themselves.

“Net zero” refers to achieving an overall balance between emissions produced and emissions taken out of the atmosphere. Like a bathtub with the water running, we can achieve this balance by turning down the water faucet (the emissions) or by draining an equal amount down the drain.

Carbon emissions from shipping vehicles are growing. Shipping trucks are responsible for four percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States today—that’s higher than any other transportation sector. As an industry leader, we want to address this issue by driving change from within.

Growth Trends in the Shipping Industry Increase Carbon Emissions

Carbon emissions from fleet vehicles are increasing, and it’s having a dramatic impact on our environment. The impact ranges from greenhouse gas emission to air pollution, water use or waste disposal issues that come with packaging materials like cardboard boxes and then recycling them.

Ecommerce has become a widely popular online activity, especially since the onset of the pandemic. Ecommerce shipping is a significant contributor to the trucking industry, particularly in long-haul and last-mile delivery of goods and services.

That trend shows no sign of slowing:

Ecommerce purchases are estimated to make up the majority of purchases by 2040 according to a report from Visual Capitalist. They also estimate that revenues will double from $3.53 trillion to $6.54 trillion by 2022. Although last-mile transport is starting to rely on electric vehicles, long-haul trucking still relies on fossil fuels that emit carbon dioxide.

How Fleet Managers Can Reduce Carbon Emissions

Given these statistics, how can businesses take measures to reduce their carbon footprint from vehicle emissions?

There are a few ways that telematics and GPS tracking can make some meaningful improvements. There are several issues in the trucking industry that can affect carbon emissions—namely, optimizing routes and reducing idle times. Reducing the time to complete deliveries and cutting down on situations where vehicles are required to idle are both beneficial to reducing the amount of exhaust that enters the atmosphere, not to mention saving on fuel costs.

How One GPS Customer Has Improved Efficiencies and Customer Satisfaction

GPS Trackit customer Jennifer M. shares the impact that our solution has created for her company and reviews our fleet management solution:

“Being able to track and manage our trucks in a quick click allows us to give our customers up-to-date information ensuring that the job is being done in a timely, yet safe, manner. We can track speed, route information, mileage, whether they’re using safe driving practices or not, and we can dispatch using the SMS feature. We can also use this service to track jobs done outside of business hours. I cannot imagine how we worked prior to using this service!”

Being able to ensure that drivers are using the optimal routes and correct speeds is one vital facet of improving efficiencies and reducing emissions.

Prioritizing Carbon-Reducing Fleet Management Solutions

Prioritizing your GPS tracking and telematics solution can have a meaningful impact on the health of your fleet and employees—and the environment.

If you’d like to learn more about how GPS Trackit can help to improve safety, increase productivity and reduce costs for your business, speak with one of our
knowledgeable Fleet Advisors at 866-320-5810 or get a quick Custom Quote.