E-commerce less climate-damaging than traditional retail

A recent study by the German Clean Tech Institute (DCTI), named ‘Climate friendly shopping – a comparative perspective of online retail and over-the-counter (OTC) retail’ shows that online retail is less climate-damaging than traditional retail.
This study examined products’ transport routes from distribution centre to the customer.
Key finding of the report is that an article that a consumer orders online causes, on average, less CO₂ emissions than if the purchase occurs in a high-street store. The research also shows that further reductions of CO₂ emissions are only possible through avoiding unnecessary transportation (News Item Otto Group, 7 October 2015).
Click here for the news item.
Click here to access the full report (2.32 MB, in German).
Click here for more information about the NVC E-course Packaging for E-commerce.

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