Give ethically this Christmas

By Steve Evans, CEO of emissions-free delivery firm XeroE

Well, that’s been a tough old year. But at least the one thing you can rely on is us Brits going hard this Christmas.

No, I’m not just talking about popping open the bubbly at 10am, grabbing a couple of extra pigs-in-blankets or even diving in for the last Quality Street. We’re primed and ready to make up for last year’s low-key festive period… with the hope that Omicron doesn’t spoil things.

Consumer data experts Statista is predicting this year’s Yuletide gifting will be the biggest-yet, with Christmas spending in the UK hitting an eye-watering £84.7bn – that’s up £5bn on the lockdown-affected figure of 2020. Probably less surprising is the news that more than one-third of that massive spend will be made online, with this number growing if variant concerns increase.

Of course, only the most curmudgeonly and Scrooge-like character could deny the country’s retailers a bit of good cheer after all they have endured during the pandemic. But that doesn’t mean you can’t feel a little bit uneasy about the huge waste and environmental cost that this rampant buying spree brings.

I’ve obviously got a foot in both camps; I want businesses to do well because that means more deliveries, but I’m definitely not in favour of the terrible impact that ‘traditional’ logistics has on people’s health when it comes to air quality in cities.

We all know how awfully congested our roads get at Christmas as people rush to do their present buying. That is compounded now by the huge number of, mainly diesel, vans that are buzzing about dropping off parcels, meaning air that is pumped full of CO2 and NOx. Add in the particulate pollution caused by tyre and brake wear and you’ve got the perfect recipe for a whole host of breathing problems.

There’s some other unpleasant facts about Christmas too, like the extra 100m bags of rubbish that goes to landfill. That includes 125,000 tonnes of plastic (the same weight as nearly 713,000 reindeer, if you’re asking!)

So what’s the answer? Cutting down on driven miles is an obvious solution. For example, simply driving one mile less throughout the year saves the energy used to produce a household’s entire annual packaging use.

Sadly, genuine green delivery is still an option that most shoppers cannot take advantage of. Our operation is growing at a rapid pace, yet we’re still a small player compared to the giants of the industry.

We know full well that consumers are very keen on the concept of lessening their carbon footprint when it comes to shopping, with sentiment very much in our favour when it comes to younger people.

The issue, however, comes with retailers themselves, who cite an imagined fear that a delivery company with an alternative take on the environment will somehow not be able to do what it’s main function is – ie, actually deliver the goods.

It’s sort of understandable, since companies stand and fall by their delivery promise. All the evidence suggests that consumers quickly fall out of love with firms that mess up their deliveries, so having third-party partners you can count on is essential. Indeed, the on-going shortage of HGV drivers is currently playing havoc with established brands, with a recent survey by consulting firm Oracle showing a staggering 74% of people were willing to shop elsewhere if their favourite shops suffered availability and delivery delays.

Still, that is no slight on newer players like XeroE, since we’ve plenty of proof that our emission-free deliveries by electric vehicles and bikes constantly hit on-time targets.

We’ve found the problem encouraging early adopters of our service lies squarely in the operations departments of large retailers. They often talk a good ‘green’ game – and will have a sustainability champion who wants to engage our services – but in reality these stores will inevitably go with what they know. And that is a high-polluting logistics giant.

The greenwash is rampant here too. Many of our bigger competitors will make fanciful net zero claims by offsetting carbon emissions by planting trees in faraway places like South America. That, of course, does nothing to stop your neighbourhood being thick with noxious fumes come Boxing Day.

So for Christmas this year I’m hoping for a simple present – the chance to demonstrate how low-impact deliveries can work for the better. By offering trials in selected areas, we can demonstrate our seamless last-mile approach. On top of that, our XeroE Emissions Calculator, which has been developed by the experts at London’s Imperial College, will prove how we keep the atmosphere clean. That is real goodwill to all.