Making Deliveries and Returns MORE Sustainable with Parcel Pending by Quadient’s New High-Density Starter Towers

The Data is Clear: Consumers Care About Sustainability

In an era of increasing environmental awareness, sustainability has become more than just a buzzword—it’s become top of mind for both consumers and businesses. According to Deloitte UK, in the past 12 months, the proportion of consumers saying they have adopted a more sustainable lifestyle has increased across 11 of the 23 sustainable behaviours they track.¹

When it comes to e-commerce, our proprietary research reveals 47% of shoppers are concerned that the way they receive parcels isn’t sustainable.² Further, 31% of respondents feel pressured to reduce the number of parcels they receive for economic and environmental reasons.³ However, they also expect more secure, accessible, and consistent alternatives to fulfil their needs, especially when opting for out-of-home (OoH) delivery.

Open Locker Networks: Reshaping Parcel Deliveries & Returns

OoH delivery allows recipients to choose a pick-up point that suits their needs, such as open locker network locations. These systems are carrier-agnostic, located in high-traffic areas, and typically accessible 24/7, providing more flexibility for individuals with busy schedules.

When everyone leverages one solution, it strengthens the benefits for all. With more carriers delivering to the same centralised locations, collecting and returning parcels is more convenient for customers, as they can address all their shipping needs in one place. This makes carrier-agnostic locker networks, like Parcel Pending by Quadient’s Open Locker Network, both a customer-preferred and Earth-friendly solution for out-of-home delivery. Consumer sentiment reflects this; our research reveals 72% of consumers are open to using smart, secure parcel lockers as an alternative to traditional home deliveries or click-and-collect counters.⁴

Elevating Sustainability: New Locker Solutions that Deliver MORE

As a company committed to sustainability and innovation, Parcel Pending by Quadient is constantly striving to reduce our company’s and our solutions’ impact on the environment. We understand that carriers can realize the most significant declines in greenhouse gas emissions, as they make fewer stops and idle less frequently in urban areas when delivering to centralised locker locations.

Lowering carbon emissions is one of the reasons we introduced our innovative Drop Box lockers last year. By consolidating more return parcels through a single collection point, carriers can reduce the number of delivery stops and truck dwell time required on a given route without compromising on operational costs and efficiency.

This is also why we are introducing our new high-density starter lockers. The new High Density starter design both maximises efficiency by allowing more parcels in the same footprint than previous models, as well as lowers the energy consumption of a given locker location by 28%.⁵ Additionally, it cuts CO2 emissions by 20%, which is equivalent to 26% of the average annual carbon footprint of a UK citizen.⁶

These solutions will make adopting lockers an intelligent choice for your business’s future, whether through joining our Open Locker Network or creating a private delivery network.

Eco-Friendly Delivery: The Future is Now

Consumers are increasingly conscious of their environmental impact and are willing to make changes to support more sustainable practices. By adapting our solutions to be more eco-friendly, we can help your business align with CSR objectives and consumer values while also benefiting from increased operational efficiency and reduced costs.

Ready to learn more about how our solutions can benefit your business? Click here to contact a Parcel Pending by Quadient representative.

Sources:

1. Cromwell, E., Malley, A., & Fenech, C. The Sustainable Consumer 2023. www.deloitte.com. June 24, 2024. https://www.deloitte.com/uk/en/Industries/consumer/research/sustainable-consumer.html
2. May 2023 Parcel Pending by Quadient Survey of 2,000 UK adults aged 18 and over.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Comparison between a 3-tower solution in use featuring a first-generation D13 and a 3-tower solution featuring the next-generation DSP19, both located in London (equivalent to a continental area).
6. Comparison between a 3-tower solution featuring a first-generation D13 and a 3-tower solution featuring the next-generation DSP19, both located in London (equivalent to a continental area) as per the Life Cycle Analysis methodology.