Environmental concerns are rarely out of the news. With a constantly expanding population and more vehicles than ever on the roads, the need to cut down CO2 emissions is of greater concern now than ever.
Although global CO2 emissions have remained stable for the last few years, there is a still a great need to drastically reduce them in order to prevent the consequences of climate change. Because of this, there is increasing pressure on businesses that rely on the use of vehicles to take any steps they can in order to cut down on CO2 emissions.
One industry that has yet to make major strives where cutting CO2 emissions is concerned is the courier industry. Although efforts are certainly made to make packaging materials as environmentally-friendly as possible, the fact that a lot of couriers rely on the use of large, powerful vehicles such as vans and trucks means that it has not yet been possible to use low or zero emission vehicles. However that is likely to change in the near future.
Driving factors
Below are some of the driving factors that will likely make green vehicles the norm in the courier industry.
- Saving money – Courier firm operators are always looking to save money on courier insurance wherever possible (especially courier van insurance which can be very expensive), which is why they often use insurance comparison services. A lot of insurance providers offer discounts for electric car owners so it stands to reason that getting electric vans will make insurance cheaper for courier firms too.
- Wider availability of electric vans – The lack of availability of electric vans is the biggest obstacle for courier firms investing in green vehicles currently. However affordable electric vans are just around the corner and as more models become available and the prices continue to drop, an increasing number of courier firms will realise that the pros of investing in electric vans outweigh the cons.
- Obligations – Another factor that will drive the courier industry towards adopting electric vehicles is pressure from the government and the public. The environment is something that concerns everybody and so when using electric vehicles becomes viable for couriers, it’s something they will feel obligated to do.
