Is sustainable logistics possible?
At Diamond we are committed to Sustainable fulfilment and delivery , minimalising our environmental impact. But whilst we are conscious of it, we are also incredibly conscious of how environmentally unfriendly our industry appears – yet is so vital to daily living. The reality is logistics is fuelled by fossil fuels and it will be a challenge for us to hit net zero by 2040. But here at Diamond we will do our very best!
And we are making great inroads already. Here’s our refreshed Environmental Pledge:
Our Environmental Pledge
- Leave no trace – to leave as little trace as humanly possible
- Where there’s impact there is recompense – where we cannot remedy we will counter our carbon footprint
- Only choose supply partners with the same environmental commitments – looking at all supply chain partners – from packaging, to carriers to post – and making sure their green policies align with our own
- To utilise technology to drive efficiency – sustaining and developing cutting edge technology to minimalise waste and maximise utilisation.
- We are working towards our carbon neutral goal by 2030 and carbon zero by 2040
The action we have taken so far
- We have focused on building our ESG (environmental, social and governance) pledge into our everyday activities
- We regularly review the environment commitments and standards we have set for our business to make sure we are hitting our goals and finding new ways to improve.
- Our business model that minimalises mileage, maximises loads and efficiency to reduce our environmental impact, driven by our logistics platform, Despatchlab, which maximises the efficiency of our people and fleet
- We make sure all our carriers partners have active ESG plans and monitor their performance and statistics on this
- We partner with packaging companies who provide the most environmentally prudent products to our clients.
- We avoid single use plastics and utilise eco cleaning products where we can
- We only supply eco friendly packaging for our clients
- We maximise digital utilisation across our network to stop paper waste
- Our green office target has been achieved for over 20 years running
- We regularly promote a green agenda to our network, through the logistics industry and we award good environmental practices at our AGM
- We appointed our very own sustainability champion, Melanie, in 2023 to help us be greener, sooner
- Offset tonnes of carbon dioxide per month by supporting a Global Portfolio of Verified Carbon Reduction Projects via Carbon Footprint ©
- Only use suppliers who have active commitment to improving their environmental sustainability.
- Added the Green Checklist to the Diamond standards
- Changed lights in offices to LED and automatic switch off
- Committed to the Green Agenda being part of our company’s objectives and key results
- Started our shift to electric vehicles acquiring the first for our fleet
- Supported the green agenda in IoC meets
- Promoted remote working, launch and meets to minimalise road miles
- ‘Right product, right box, right packaging’ philosophy
- Only purchasing recycled, recyclable, reusable boxes and biodegradable inserts.
The Electric Vehicle debate
We monitor the advances in electric vehicles that can be practically used by the logistics industry, but unfortunately, so far, transferring our fleet wholesale to EVs (Electric vehicles) is neither practical nor affordable. However, as this technology develops to provide greater capacity, range, recharge network reliability and affordability, it is our hope that the Diamond fleet can make this transition. Until that time, we will continue to use the most fuel-efficient vehicles available for our fleet.
We also believe that the least environmentally impactful vehicle is the one you are driving now, and to drive it until the end of its lifetime. So we stopped requiring couriers to have vehicles under 3 years old, and as long as they are neat, tidy and reliable then age doesn’t matter.
Our Technology powers sustainability
By definition, sustainable logistics is the process of managing the flow of goods and services in a way that minimises the impact on the environment. This aims to reduce carbon emissions, minimise waste, and use renewable energy sources. And technology plays a big part in this.
Diamond Logistics uses its home grown technology platform, Despatchlab to manage operations, streamline the ecommerce fulfilment process, making it easier for businesses to manage their online orders –but also do it in the most environmentally friendly way.
- We utilise the carriers spare capacity rather than establishing our own network, minimalising wasted miles and maximising vehicle utilisation of all our carries.
- We also utilise our own returns loads system so we minimalise empty van mileage,
- Our warehouses mean hundreds of businesses share space and resources maximising efficiency – rather than them all running their own sites
- The consolidations of despatches from these site means carrier have less stem mileage to pick up from us exponentially reducing collection carbon impact
- Our collection vans utilise technology to create efficient local runs to consolidate locally with no additional trucking reducing stem mileage
Diamond is doing its bit and will keep our environmental commitment and the forefront of our future strategy. If you’d like to read our full Sustainably Policy then you can find it HERE
