How can we decarbonise the last-mile delivery?

Several factors are behind this counterintuitive equation:
- Low vehicle fill efficiency rate: delivery vans are rarely full on leaving the warehouse (in particular, to meet expectations and the demand for fast delivery). The van gets progressively emptier during the delivery round before returning empty or nearly. Over the last mile, a delivery van is subsequently mostly… empty!
- Last-mile delivery vans are generally smaller (from 3.5 to 7.5 tons). Unlike bigger lorries that pool more together, making them finally more effective in terms of carbon intensity.
- urban traffic congestion: traffic jams, frequent stopping and restarting… increase fuel consumption.

It is essential to have a multi-dimensional approach to effectively tackle the environmental impact of last-mile delivery.

Optimising delivery routes can considerably reduce the distance covered and improve vehicles' fill efficiency rates. Route optimisation software can help to plan effective delivery routes, whereas cargo consolidation strategies combine several customers' or companies' deliveries to maximise vehicles' capacity. Delivery lead time management, allowing customers to choose all the way to specific delivery windows, can even rationalise operations and minimise congestion.

From the perspective of the fill rate, the idea is to pool delivery needs with those of other companies: co-loading, co-delivery… options that bring certain benefits. We are thinking in terms of the reduction in costs, transit times and the number of lorries on the road.

The constraints include ensuring compatibility of parcels, orders (separating those containing electrical components and those with chemical elements, for example), and the need for adapting to logistics that are already well-established.

The strategy consists of optimising the supply chain and reducing the environmental impact of deliveries. It is referred to as cross-docking.

Before cross-docking:
The products are received in the distribution centre from suppliers through different modes of transport (FTL and LTL).
They are stored in the distribution centre.
The customer orders are prepared and shipped from the distribution centre.

After cross-docking:
The products are received in the logistics hub from several suppliers by different modes of transport.
The products are sorted and consolidated in the logistics hub according to their final destinations.
They are directly loaded into lorries to be delivered to customers.
Customers receive their orders directly from the logistics hub.

Among the benefits there are: 
- streamlining the supply chain. Cross-docking can reduce products' transit times between the supply and the customer.
- increase transport efficiency. Consolidating orders in an FTL lorry helps to optimise vehicle fill rates and reduce C02 emissions,
- the reduction of transport costs. Cross-docking can lead to transport cost reductions due to the decrease in the number of deliveries required.

The idea is quite simple: by relying on a digital tool, you optimise the order of stops made during the delivery round to reduce the overall distance covered. This optimisation can also considerably reduce fuel consumption, emissions and delivery times, which translates into cost savings and better efficiency. Potential gain: 30 % of distance covered!

There a is major dual advantage to parcel optimisation when packing: reduction in the environmental impact and transport costs. By actually limiting empty space in parcels, we decrease the overall shipping volume, translating into a series of practical benefits.

More compact parcels enabling to optimise truck loading, increase transport capacity and reduce the number of rotations required for the last mile.
Solutions currently exist to automatically split parcels in the supply chain into a suitable size, for example.

The benefits of electric vehicles: 
Permitted in low emission zones (LEZ): Thanks to no exhaust emissions, electric vehicles can circulate freely in urban areas where there are traffic restrictions that apply to internal combustion engine cars. It contributes to better air quality in city centres.

High potential decrease in CO2: a significant proportion of CO2 emissions are linked to transport. By replacing petrol or diesel vehicles, electric vehicles help to significantly reduce these emissions, as long as the electricity used to recharge them comes from renewable sources.

Reduced sound pollution: electric motors are much quieter than internal combustion engines. It contributes to reducing environmental noise exposure, especially in densely populated urban areas.

Technology adapted to the last kilometre: electric vehicles are well-suited to "last-mile" urban use,characterised by short distances and numerous stops (deliveries, taxis, etc.). Their driving range is sufficient for these uses, and their capacity to accelerate quickly is ideal for driving in town.

Please note, however, one potential drawback: the EV's overall environmental impact greatly depends on the energy source used during recharging.. If electricity comes from a coal-fired power station, its environmental benefit is diminished.However, with renewable energy-based electricity production (solar energy, wind power, hydropower), EVs potentially become a sustainable solution for urban mobility.

Hydrogen-powered light vehicles do not currently provide the ideal solution for the famous last-mile delivery, or even for utility vehicles in general, for that matter!

The technology is still in the development stage, and its energy efficiency is inferior to that of electric vehicles: the hydrogen used to power these vehicles can come from polluted sources, potentially cancelling out the environmental benefits ...

Using green hydrogen from renewable energies remains an option in countries where the electricity is produced from carbon sources, but the risk of using "grey" hydrogen (from fossil-based sources) makes this option uncertain.

Bioenergy is a renewable energy produced from organic materials, also called biomass. Biomass is any organic material that stores sunlight (through photosynthesis) in chemical energy form.

Advantages:
Reducing CO2 emissions: Mass balance systems can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially in countries where electricity is produced from carbon sources. Biofuels and biogas can actually be generated from residual waste or from dedicated crops, which can be used to replace fossil fuels.
Technology is ready: The technologies for producing and using biofuels and biogas are already mature and can be deployed on a large scale.

Disadvantages:
Similar air pollution to fossil fuels: Biofuels and biogas combustion emit nitrogen oxide and fine particles that pollute the atmosphere, which can be harmful to human health and the environment.
Negative impact on biodiversity: The production of biofuels and biogas can lead to deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and direct competition with food production.
Greater strain on water resources: the production of some crops dedicated to biofuels might require large amounts of water, contributing to exacerbating water stress in some regions.

The mass balance approach is a means of accounting that helps to track and quantify the flow of raw materials and products throughout the supply chain. . It is applied to all types of materials, including fossil raw materials, renewable raw materials, recycled products and finished products.

These "credits" help to account for avoided greenhouse gas emissions compared to a scenario where only fossil raw materials would have been used. This approach subsequently provides a transparent means of evaluating efforts in terms of decarbonisation.

Bikes quickly come to mind when talking about last-mile delivery in major cities. And while it is indeed a solution suited to towns, not all deliveries can benefit from it.

The vehicle's production part is greater than that of a van (especially given a delivery van could reach up to 300,000 km, which is currently not the case with bikes). The production phase therefore represents a significant part of their carbon footprint.
However, cargo bikes have a major advantage: their carbon footprint varies less than that of electric vans. In actual fact, an electric van's impact very much depends on the energy source used to recharge it. And the energy mix can vary considerably from one country to another.
If cargo bikes' durability were to improve in the future, their overall environmental impact could be reduced even further: a longer lifespan would help to spread the impact over a higher number of uses and subsequently minimise it.
Electric cargo bikes present a certain number of advantages for deliveries in urban environments:
- Permitted in Low Emission Zones (LEZ): Thanks to no exhaust emissions, electric vehicles can circulate freely in urban areas where traffic restrictions exist, which apply to internal combustion engine cars.This contributes to better air quality.
- A potentially notable reduction in CO2: they can significantly reduce CO2 emissions compared to electric vans, especially in countries where electricity is produced from carbon-based sources.
- A mature and available technology: Electric cargo bikes are already an operational solution.
- Drastic reduction in noise pollution: They are much quieter than vans, improving noise levels in town.

However, their use also presents limitations:
- Limited benefit in large populated cities: Having a limited range is a constraint, mainly suited to short-distance deliveries (3-4 km around the city centre) in densely populated urban areas.
- Higher investment cost: they can be more expensive to purchase than traditional vans.

In short, electric cargo bikes are an noteworthy solution for short-distance urban deliveries in large, dense and polluted cities, especially in countries with a high level of carbon-based electricity production. However, their more limited range and higher investment cost make them a less commonplace solution for last-mile logistics.