To save the planet we need less air

The humor distracts from a real and hugely damaging truth. This is air, wrapped in plastic, protecting plastic, which is wrapping air, wrapped in plastic. In a box, which has a lot of spare air within it.

The intensive resources, carbon emissions and particulates emitted to carry this air is contributing to the international complexity in tackling both green house gas and air quality.

The International Transport Forum estimates that 8 per cent of total emissions, and 39 per cent of transport emissions, are generated by the freight and logistics sector. The equivalent of the GDP of small countries is being spent trying to reduce these emissions.

Arup is working with clients internationally to find ways within the transport system to help, more efficiencies, different motive technologies, shared resources, reshaping of networks temporally and spatially. These are huge volume, low-value transaction businesses looking to shave a tenth of a percent wherever possible.

The freight and logistics industry is one of the most focused in the transport sector. Saving the planet may also save a dollar in the hyper-competitive world of haulage.

Outside the control of this sector, beyond the zero carbon technology, beyond the behavioural strategies that are reducing emissions through eco-driving, beyond the sensor tech and big data tools to maximize loading, sits packaging.

Big companies, like Coca-Cola have actually spent decades making bottles thinner, lighter and more compact to reduce haulage costs (with the occasional retro throwback that undoes all the work). The big national and international hauliers are sophisticated at maximizing the cubic meter utilization for their large clients. And this should be celebrated and awarded, though often it is unseen and, in the transport world, often considered of lesser interest.

However, the world of internet shopping has created a different reality. There are a great many dis-aggregated, small retailers using shipping services to deliver rapidly to customers. Speed of shipping has become a competitive point of difference across product categories.

The aggregators then become the national postal services and big companies shipping small parcels with no control over what is in the box. But to offer plans, they offer standardized box sizes. These conveniently add up together in ingenious ways to form cubic meters for shipping. But they also create demand for air, and a lot of it.

The smallest goods that are unsuitable for shipping by envelope go in the smallest boxes, generally multiples of the size of the object. Pricing is by size with an upper weight limit, so there is no benefit to the small retailer to minimize the packaging. And plastic-wrapped air is the most plentiful and cheapest space filler. Air is killing the planet, both for the wasted volume, and because for the majority, it is wrapped in carbon based plastics.

If the materials scientists of the world focused on this, with the logistics professionals, the financial systems experts, the marketers and the public this could significantly reduce the volume of resources used to ship products. That reduces GHG, packaging waste, recycling effort, congestion, all the pollution from vehicle operation, spatial take of delivery infrastructure and improves air quality. It also reduces cost. Reduce is the best strategy.

I am a realist. Of course, it would be better if we all didn't buy as much stuff, and we availed of the local supply chain which has been optimized over decades. But we chase the shiny and new. The least we could do is use the least we could.

Packaging is surprisingly complex, itself has a multi-disciplinary supply chain, is critical to customer satisfaction and product reliability, and will not disappear any time soon. But what I dream of is seeing adaptive packaging for shipping that is fit for purpose, cheap and as small and light as possible with zero plastic and no unnecessary air.

The packaging industry prospers from change. The first to change will capture the green wave hitting consumerism. We should all celebrate when it happens.