Post and parcel delivery companies could significantly reduce harmful city emissions and traffic congestion, if bold steps are taken to reshape last-mile delivery ecosystems, according to a new study by consultants Accenture.

The report, 'The Sustainable Last Mile: Faster. Greener. Cheaper', produced in collaboration with Frontier Economics, found that using local micro-fulfilment centres (MFCs) such as in-store click and collect points, automated locker storage facilities, and stand-alone micro-warehouse facilities across London to fulfil just half of the e-commerce orders could significantly reduce traffic volume and harmful air emissions.

The capital could see a 13% reduction in delivery traffic by using MFCs — equating to about 320 million fewer delivery vehicle miles. It also found that greater use of MFCs could lower delivery vehicle-related emissions in London by 17% by 2025.

Henry Cartwright, Accenture’s post and parcel industry lead for Europe, said: “With the uptick in demand for e-commerce during the Covid-19 pandemic looking set to stay, the need to address the carbon footprint of the last mile supply-chain has never been more pressing.

“If left unchecked, we’re likely to see an increase in vehicle movements and traffic congestion on the roads as we emerge from the lockdown, impacting on air quality as a result of higher levels of vehicle-related emissions.”

Deploying route optimisation technologies alongside the MFCs could also reduce delivery traffic by an additional 3% in London. This could result in an additional reduction in vehicle travel of up to 87 million miles across London.

“No single entity can solve the challenge of last-mile delivery alone," the report concluded. "Consumers, retailers, local authorities and delivery organisations must cooperate and work together to improve the sustainability of last mile delivery and to make it more efficient and cost effective - it will take an ecosystem of partners working together across London to create the lasting change that is critically needed.

“The good news is that collaboration is happening and progress on greening the supply-chain is being made; but this isn’t moving fast enough. The industry must act now to accelerate the pace of change if it is to contribute meaningfully to achieving the UK’s net zero targets. This will require the pairing of human ingenuity with technology innovation, across the sector.”

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