5 Ways to carbon offset the impact of your e-commerce business

Without a doubt, 2021’s Cap26 meeting has left UK e-commerce businesses seeking ways to reduce their carbon footprint and increase sustainability.

One of the ways that businesses can do this is through carbon offsetting. There is a wide range of benefits to carbon offsetting that stretch further than the environmental impact. Not only may carbon offsetting increase customer loyalty and improve your brand perception, but it can also lead to boosted sales.

Research shows that more than half of UK shoppers (57%) say online shopping poses risks for the environment, with 40% willing to pay extra for carbon-neutral shipping.

With the well-being of the environment at the forefront of shoppers’ minds reducing the impact of your e-commerce business on the planet and becoming carbon neutral is an essential move for the future of your business.

In this article, we will discuss 5 ways that you can carbon offset the impact of your e-commerce business from using a cloud-based business solution to carbon-free shipping programmes.

What is carbon offsetting?

Put simply, carbon offsetting is a way to compensate for carbon dioxide emissions that your business can’t avoid producing.

What are the carbon offset options?

The available carbon offset options depend on the structure of your e-commerce business.

For example, businesses that use Shopify can add the Offset app to their shop. Once the Shop Pay option has been enabled, you can offer 100% carbon neutral shipping to your buyers. The Offset app does the hard work for you by calculating the delivery emissions of each individual order using the distance travelled, mode of transportation, and the weight of the package. The is charged through your monthly Shopify invoice with the full amount going directly to deforestation protection projects.

If your business is run via a different platform, there are plenty of other programmes to choose from that will help counterbalance some of your carbon emissions.

• Etsy is a global online marketplace that runs a carbon offsetting programme that neutralises its delivery and transport emissions in partnership with 3Degrees. The projects invested in include wind and solar farms and planting and preserving trees.
• ClimatePartner provides carbon offsets to e-commerce companies, including reforestation projects and hydropower investments. It gives you a trackable ID number that can be shown on packaging and marketing material, which lets your customers track the offsets associated with their purchase.
• Carbonfund offers a Carbon-free Shipping Program for e-commerce businesses. Its projects are focused on reforestation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy projects.
• Sage 200 Standard Online and Sage Intacct are both true cloud offerings. By impletmenting a cloud business solution you can reduce the amount of energy your business produces as you will no longer require the use of on-site servers. Addionally to this, Sage software solutions can also support your carbon offset initatives in various ways, from managing packaging and office supplies to building a sustainable supply chain.

These are just 5 ways to carbon offset the impact of your e-commerce business but there are many more options out there. Whichever way you choose to do so these smart tips will get you on the road to making significant reductions on the environmental impact of your e-commerce business.

If you would like to discuss how Sage solutions can support your business in more depth, then please use the enquiry form or call 01332 959008