Tackling the Impacts of Rising Consumption & Consumerism on our Cities

By Theophil Haberstoh, Caroline Marie, and Sam S. Starr

Our consumer habits are at the root of the movement of goods in our cities. It is important that we find solutions that make it possible to address these habits, and more specifically the root causes. The World Economic Forum forecasts a 78% increase in town and city deliveries by 2030, leaving us to believe that we cannot ignore consumption habits, which are the source of the flow of goods, and significantly impact that last kilometer. Addressing consumerism mitigates the direct negative impacts of increased commerce to our cities. These negative impacts fall into three categories:?

• Economic: congestion, road maintenance, last mile inefficiency
• Environmental: GHG emissions and air pollution, land use, increased waste
• Social: physical health, network security, peace of mind, loss of social ties, harm to quality of life, unsustainable gig delivery jobs.

Figure 1: Forecasted rise in vehicles, emissions, and congestion (Source: World Economic Forum)

Broadening the reduction of the impacts of sustainable logistics at the most upstream stage, the purchasing decision, means we need to examine two categories of levers: the levers targeting the consumer and the levers targeting the last mile. The most powerful levers to mitigate impacts of logistics in a district, are the choices and regulatory framework in which the consumer operates when making purchasing decisions. This includes, how the product is made, where the product comes from, and how the consumer takes possession of his purchase. The three dominant models in North America are: 1) the shopping center model on the outskirts of a city, built around automobile access, 2) the shopping center model within cities with access to sustainable means of transportation including walking, cycling, and public transport, and 3) the home delivery model.

An American study determined that about 80% of the carbon impact of in-store purchases are linked to the customer transportation segment. (MIT)

In an article in The Atlantic, Ravi Dhar, the director of Yale’s Center for Customer Insights, says “Free shipping is enticing…because shoppers irrationally hate to pay for certain services—even those that they value immensely, such as speedy and reliable delivery.” With Amazon Prime, consumers essentially pay up front for shipping, and that Prime Membership is seen as a sunk cost, that drives more compulsive shopping. Consumers today are highly encouraged to seek deals that make the shipping ‘free’. Yet, there is a balance to be had. When a consumer is not compulsive and impatient, and not making repeated and/or same-day purchases - the home delivery option seems at first sight more efficient in terms of GHG emissions than the model of purchase at the store. This is because the bulk of the balance sheet of carbon emissions when shopping in-store is linked to the customer using their car for the task. In reality, a majority of shopping tasks can be done by foot, bike or public transport within our cities.? It is important that “traditional” shopping in cities be conducted without using a car, and significantly lower the carbon footprint of purchases.

Figure 2: Estimated Carbon Footprint of Different Types of Shoppers (MIT)

Strengthening local consumption at the neighborhood level, with primary transport other than alone by car, would have an environmental impact much better than the currently dominant model. Local consumption has the advantage of proximity, and creates positive social impacts, specifically, exchange with local merchants, meetings with neighbors during movement in a district, and creating quality local jobs. This proximity relieves the “temptation” to order online and get the goods delivered to your home. These local shops should be recognized by municipalities in many ways like “hubs”, and should be combined with sustainable means of transport (cargo bikes, trailers, etc.) to move goods locally and bring heavier goods home. Last mile improvement levers, whether to develop urban transshipment hubs, to enable cycle logistics, or electrify the fleets of vehicles, etc. will only have a noticeable effect if they are matched with clear regulations and with a well-defined long-term strategy deployed by the city including emission reduction commitments from the private sector.

A powerful factor to reduce the GHG emissions linked to our consumption habits is urbanism. We at Coop Carbone have the following recommendations, and more, for cities to approach current consumer behavior, and will touch on these in future articles:

1. Further measure and compare the impacts of the shopping mall, 15 minute city, home delivery, express home delivery on society, the economy, and the environment.
2. Inform and mobilize the citizen - educate on the true costs of ‘free’ shipping, and provide easy access to mobility. Coop Carbone is working on a sustainable delivery label.?
3. Experiment with policy and regulations favoring sustainable logistics - for instance zero emissions zones, and curb pricing and management.
4. Implement pilot projects to promote access to local shops and markets with sustainable and active mobility.
5. Experiment with consolidation - encourage businesses and retailers to share assets and mutualize demand.
6. Experiment combining mobility and goods delivery hubs and modes - for example cargo trams, and multi-carrier hubs at critical transportation centers.

About Coop Carbone

Our mission at the not-for-profit Coop Carbone is to act together in the face of the climate emergency. We strive to reduce GHG emissions through identifying, developing and implementing sustainable and collaborative driven solutions and innovations. Our team of sustainable mobility and logistics experts enables sustainability through strategic frameworks, co-creation of pilots, and implementation of plans, projects, and public-private partnerships through a “Reduce - Transfer - Improve” approach.?

Collaboration, cooperation, consolidation, and communication are critical pillars of success in sustainable logistics. As a not-for-profit solidarity cooperative, our position between the public and private sector allows us to make a significant impact. In our work, we align stakeholders, implement plans, pilots and programs, and accelerate startups. We have successfully implemented these solutions across Quebec through programs such as Accelerateur MOBIS, Envoi Montreal, mini-hubs, among others, and are expanding our work across Canada.

If you are interested in working on sustainable logistics projects with us, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].?

Note: The study this article is derived from was carried out by Coop Carbone on behalf of the Solon Collectif with funds from City of Montreal and Government of Canada through the Smart Cities Challenge.

Cover Image Source: Search Engine Journal