Take a look at what goes into your packaging materials, particularly if plastics are involved. Only 9% of all plastics get recycled, with 50% ending up in landfill and 22% evading waste management systems altogether.⁵ And even if consumers are wellintentioned, packaging can often contain a lot of non-recyclable plastics.

If you’re able to reduce the environmental impact of your packaging, it might not just be better for the planet – it could also have a positive impact on your business. 81% of consumers prefer to buy products with eco-friendly packaging materials, so it’s worth making it a priority.⁶

• Make sure you’re minimising your packaging and reducing plastic use as much as possible. And consider whether you can use recyclable options, or if the packaging can be re-used by customers. If you can, stock up on it in advance to avoid shortfalls mid-season. The EU is targeting at least 65% of all packaging waste being recycled by 2025, rising to 70% by 2030, so it’s worth getting ahead on this now.⁷

• As well as paper and cardboard, you could try other alternative materials such as compostable bags, or even innovative new products made with sugar cane or mushroom fibres, which break down over time.⁸

• Think about the amount of packaging you use, just as much as the materials that go into it. Try and cut down on wasted space by finding boxes that better fit your product, or even consider redesigning the products themselves to fit more snugly into smaller packages.

Figures show that 4.8 tonnes of waste were generated per EU inhabitant in 2020,⁹ with a total of 2.2bn tonnes generated in the EU each year.¹⁰ Of course, businesses are not solely responsible but they do play a part in the problem – figures from WRAP show that they generate a quarter of England’s waste.¹¹

But businesses can also play a role in the solution, so now is a good time to tighten your focus across your operations, whether examining your supply chain to see where you can make positive changes, planning production more carefully or using more reusable or recyclable products and materials throughout your business.

• A good place to start could be by conducting a waste audit. Not only could this help to identify where you can make improvements, it could also improve your bottom line too with some businesses expected to be able to reduce overall waste spending by 35-40%.¹²

• See how you could improve the accuracy of your forecasts so you don’t over-estimate the amount of stock you’ll need. As well as looking back at what sold well last year and analysing your POS data, you could also consider looking at industry or market trends to help judge the interest there will be in your products.¹³

• Communication is key. Talk with your partners and suppliers to see where you – or they – can make changes. Find out about their waste management processes and how their products are sourced, or switch to other suppliers if you need to. You could also reiterate your waste-reduction goals to your staff, and help them stay engaged by introducing workplace policies and asking them for their ideas.¹⁴

Emissions from e-commerce sales are predicted to reach 25 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030.¹⁵ That shows the impact that the industry can have, so any way of reducing them – particularly during peak times – is to be welcomed.

It’s not just the delivery to think about though. Return rates also increase when ecommerce sales do. In 2021, consumers returned 16.6% of total merchandise sold, an increase of 10.6% on the previous year.¹⁶ And as e-commerce returns are estimated to create around 10 billion unnecessary trips each year, it’s an issue that all businesses should factor into their sustainability strategies.¹⁷

• Think about how you could combine as many packages as possible into each trip, to reduce the number of journeys overall or make each one more effective. For example, perhaps you could only dispatch goods on certain days of the week, or incentivise customers to choose a longer delivery timeframe to help you to optimise shipping volumes to particular areas.

• Work with a shipping provider that is able to help you achieve your sustainability goals. That might include things such as using more environmentally friendly vehicles, or allowing you to offer customers the option to collect their parcels from a pick-up point. By doing this, you could help reduce carbon emissions in the final mile.

• Ensure there’s detailed information and high-quality photos on your product pages. If customers know more accurately what they’re getting, they may be less likely to need to return it.¹⁸