On Monday, Chamber of Progress released a new report examining the emissions impact of online delivery, showing that delivery orders reduce both carbon emissions and roadway usage over individual trips to the store. The report examines the increased efficiencies of delivery in urban vs rural areas, compares e-commerce to batched grocery and instant takeout delivery, and breaks down gallons of gas saved by delivery by state.

Read the full report:
Efficiency and Emissions Impact of Last Mile Online Delivery in the U.S.

“One delivery truck handling 200 orders beats 200 cars making individual trips to the store every time,” said Chamber of Progress Director of Civic Innovation Policy Ruth Whittaker. “Online delivery saves millions of gallons of gas every year and makes a serious dent in roadway emissions. States exploring a tax on online delivery need to think seriously about the negative impact that would have on the environment, the roads, and on consumers who’ll bear the cost.”

Findings from the report on online delivery and emissions include:

• E-Commerce deliveries are able to capitalize on operational efficiencies like batching and smart routing. These deliveries are 2.3x to 2.7x more efficient than individual consumer trips. E-Commerce can save up to 1,416 miles of travel and 62 gallons of gas per 1,000 items delivered.
• Batched grocery deliveries are 1.1x to 1.5x more efficient than individual consumer trips and can save up to 300 miles of travel and 13 gallons of gas per 1,000 items.
• A household that replaces car trips with online fulfillment could experience annual savings of up to 5.9 gallons of gas saved and 133 fewer miles driven per household.
• If half of U.S. households experienced these reductions, the potential annual emissions savings for last mile online delivery are equivalent to a day’s worth of gasoline usage for the U.S. as a whole.

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Chamber of Progress (progresschamber.org) is a center-left tech industry policy coalition promoting technology’s progressive future.  We work to ensure that all Americans benefit from technological leaps, and that the tech industry operates responsibly and fairly.  

Our corporate partners do not have a vote on or veto over our positions. We do not speak for individual partner companies and remain true to our stated principles even when our partners disagree.