The need for climate action has never been more urgent and even companies that are already ahead need to keep stepping up their ambition. In this blog, South Pole's Tara Oakley talks to Eva Ross, Chief Marketing and Customer Officer at Sendle about the shipping carrier's net zero journey.
South Pole has worked with many pioneers and leaders in the business world to support their climate action. Companies that have sustainability at the core of their business view it as an opportunity to differentiate their brand and engage their customers, and a perfect example of one such company that we are proud to work with is Sendle, the first 100% carbon neutral shipping carrier in Australia and the US.
South Pole's Tara Oakley talks to Eva Ross, Chief Marketing and Customer Officer at Sendle about the shipping carrier's net zero journey.
“Sendle started out by creating a simple and affordable solution for someone to send any item to another party and have that picked up at their door for a flat rate. With our green origins, it made sense that we should think about the carbon emissions and impact of that delivery. And so it followed that every delivery through the platform needed to be carbon neutral —so now every parcel sent with Sendle is 100% carbon neutral and offset."
- Eva Ross, on how sustainability has always been important to Sendle.
Sendle has established itself as an environmental leader in the shipping industry, which is notorious for high emissions. A sustainability-led business model is at the core of their operations, and the company has been carbon neutral since launching in 2014. But it doesn't end there. Empowering its customers and engaging its employees to bring them along for the journey is a key part of Sendle's approach to sustainability.
“Each year, we ask the Sendle community to vote on a carbon emissions project that they'd like to invest in. We give them a variety of choices from decarbonisation and sustainability projects across different areas in the world for them to make a selection. These businesses have worked so hard to source a sustainable product and think about their sustainable packaging, therefore it only makes sense that this carries through to their last-mile delivery as well. This becomes a very core part of their business proposition and a story that they can tell."
- Eva, on how Sendle empowers their customers through a yearly voting process.
By showing its leadership as a strong advocate for climate action in the shipping industry, Sendle has even managed to drive major competitors to take action on climate change as well.
“Our mission is shipping that's good for the world, and that includes every parcel that's delivered. We had a look at Australia and realised that while we're doing our bit in terms of offsetting these deliveries, there's a much bigger player out there, which is Australia Post. We set up a campaign where we offset a million of Australia Posts' parcels for them and challenged them to start doing the same, which they did. This was very incredible and exciting. It's a great example of how a business can take a step in challenging the industry to make the change."
- Eva, on Sendle driving industry change in Australia
While the company is already ahead of many in their sector, Sendle is not resting on its existing success. Instead, Eva and the team are taking the next step and planning their journey to net zero. Their target is to reach net zero emissions by 2040.
“Acting to decarbonize our business and achieve net zero emissions will lay the foreground for what our childrens' future will be. It is important for businesses to remember that their contribution is key. For Sendle, we have managed to start conversations in homes and small businesses not only in the way that they are set up, but also in the way that they are starting to think of the influence that they can have on big business and on the industry."
- Eva, on Sendle's motivation behind their net zero target
To get to net zero, Sendle will continue some great initiatives that are already underway, such as solar powered deliveries, but will also need to develop a decarbonisation roadmap and invest in new projects and partnerships.
There are many opportunities to show climate leadership in the shipping industry and to demonstrate what is possible, and the team here at South Pole is excited to be supporting Sendle with their target setting and net zero development.
We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Eva about Sendle's climate journey to date and their future ambitions. For any company starting out or already on their climate journey, Eva's insights into securing support from stakeholders and creative ways to engage customers are incredibly valuable. She also provides updates on some of Sendle's next steps and shows how exciting the journey ahead will be for the company and its partners.
Check out our YouTube video of the interview or listen to the podcast here:
Note: Quotations in this blog were extracted from the interview and were edited for clarity and readability.
Get in touch to discuss how we can support your net zero journey.
South Pole is Sendle's carbon offsetting partner, providing certified carbon credits to offset the emissions generated by Sendle's deliveries.
