Courier Services

Did you know… A gasoline-powered city courier vehicle emits about 2.88kg of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) for every 10km traveled. If a city courier travels 100km per day, the yearly emissions would be as high as 7,488kg of GHGs per vehicle.

Minimum Sustainable Recommendations

• Courier service must support initiatives to enhance fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through one or more of the following:
  • Smart route planning (e.g. consolidated consignments, use of GPS-based telematics systems, etc.)
  • Use of emission-free and/or low-emission vehicles such as electric vehicles, hybrids, bicycle, etc.
  • Selecting the right-sized vehicle for the service
  • Programs to improve driving behaviour (e.g. minimize idling, reduce speeding, etc.)
• On April 1, 2019, the carbon tax came into effect in Manitoba. The intent of the carbon tax is to enhance fuel use efficiency and transition to a low carbon economy. Our organization requires transparency and prefers to compensate for carbon based on fuel usage for the service and the current carbon tax rate.
  • On invoices and bills, any charge attributed to the carbon tax must be presented as a separate line item.  The courier service must provide their methodology for calculating the carbon tax surcharge.
• Courier service must support paperless transactions including providing digital proof of delivery and paperless accounting/billing services.
• Vehicles used by the courier service must be well maintained.
• Both owner-drivers and sub-contractors who undertake courier services on behalf of the tendering company must adhere to the requirements noted above.

      Other Things to Consider

Look for courier services that can automatically calculate the GHG emissions associated with each delivery based on distance travelled and the type of vehicle and its fuel economy rating.

What are the issues?

The fuel consumption associated with courier services contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. Excessive emissions associated with delivery services can be attributed to the selection of inefficient vehicles for the service, poorly maintained vehicles, poor route planning and poor driving habits.

What are the options?

Delivery service providers are aware of their environmental impact and have been playing a key role in optimizing fuel efficiency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and are able to provide efficient courier services to their clients. Optimizations include investing in smart route planning tools/systems, driver education, scheduled vehicle maintenance, and the use of hybrid/electric vehicles. Service providers use vehicle metrics data to enhance the efficiency of their fleet. Clients are also requesting and using these fleet metrics to fully account for the emission-related impacts of their business operations.

Last updated: May 2019