Driving in the densely populated streets of London, trying to find a parking spot to drop off deliveries, is an extreme sport. However, companies like Zedify are developing solutions to make deliveries more accessible and, most importantly, better for the environment.
Green last-mile delivery isn’t a new term, but it is something delivery companies are more focused on in the last couple of years. More people are moving into flats stacked on top of high-rise buildings and office blocks, consuming more fast food and enjoying faster deliveries.
It creates problems that need solutions for a more sustainable tomorrow.
“It’s a nightmare, and it’s not just London. Most of our cities (even small ones) have major problems with congestion and air pollution. And more so for delivery drivers,” states Rob King, CEO and founder of Zedify.
“Zedify is all about trying to make those deliveries in cities better.” But it’s even more conscious about nature than that. King wants customers to feel valued when handling their parcels. “It isn’t just chucked over a fence or eaten by a dog or destroyed by the rain [during deliveries].”
King wanted to “create an impact in our cities” to reduce carbon emissions and make the streets safer and quieter. And that’s where the greener cargo bike delivery in the heart of London started for Zedify. It hopes to “disrupt” the current status quo and replace it with greener, more sustainable solutions.
Delivery in size
For big delivery companies in densely populated cities like London, it’s typically easy to have an extensive logistics hub miles outside the city. New parcels arrive at the hub each morning; delivery drivers zoom down the motorway quickly and efficiently.
The problem: Delivery vans easily get trapped in traffic and pollute the air. King compares them to “gateway for deliveries” coming into and out of the city.
While vans and trucks are used for highway transportation, they get to go on an electric cargo bike once they reach the consolidation lab.
What are the benefits of cargo bikes? “The trips that are pretty big. They’re about half the size of a small van. Over the course of the day, they can deliver more volume because we’re close to our consumers. So we can go back and forth and deliver more over the day.”
The customers can receive their parcels much faster, besides the environmental benefits of not using a van.
Carbon impact: e-bike vs. diesel van
When you compare that to a diesel van, there’s a massive change in terms of the carbon impact.
“It costs an awful lot to build those big, heavy electric vans. So if you’ve got a really super lightweight electric cargo bike, all of our research suggests that’s about a 90% saving on carbon savings, even against an electric van,” says King.
Most business owners want to do the right thing to reduce their carbon footprint, but as Kings says, it all comes down to the numbers for businesses.
He believes it’s up to the customers to “shout and demand” that businesses do better and stick to greener last-mile delivery plans.
About the author
Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.
