Going Green With Your UPS^® Shipping

Consumers can now have almost anything delivered right to their door in a matter of days, or even hours. But with that added convenience also comes extra waste and pollution. You can reduce the environmental impact of your business by applying an eco-friendly mindset to your shipping methods. The environment — and your customers — will thank you!

Take your UPS shipping to the next level with these five eco-friendly shipping tips:

1. Choose environmentally-friendly shipping boxes

There are a number of certifications you can look for to ensure your UPS shipping materials are environmentally-friendly. The most common certification is the recycling symbol you find on packaging, which often lists the percentage of recycled materials used. Other certifications may indicate that the packaging is created from sustainable source materials or is made with eco-friendly adhesives and inks. For an even more sustainable option, UPS has partnered with TerraCycle on a pilot program called Loop, which will be deployed globally in the near future. This program replaces standard boxes with durable totes that can be reused again and again instead of being thrown out after one delivery.

2. Use eco-friendly packing materials as well

Your box isn’t the only thing that can be environmentally-friendly; you can also choose green filling materials. Consider replacing styrofoam packing peanuts — which are non-sustainable — with biodegradable fillers like corrugated inserts or inflatables made of recycled plastics. If you’re worried about additional costs, don’t fret. Biodegradable fillers are typically competitive in price with traditional styrofoam fillers.

3. Minimize waste by using the correct size of box

Avoid using boxes that are too big for your shipment. Not only does using the smallest box possible reduce unnecessary shipping costs, it also requires fewer shipping materials like extra cardboard and fillers. Using compact packaging also means that your UPS shipments take up less space in transit, reducing your carbon footprint.

4. Schedule pick-up for your shipments

Since delivery trucks are already driving around, it may be more environmentally-friendly to schedule a pickup rather than dropping the package off at the carrier yourself. Plus, through the use of new ground-breaking tools, UPS is already finding ways to optimize driver routes to limit truck usage and fuel consumption. Unishippers customers can easily schedule pick-up for their UPS shipping when they book shipments through our myUnishippers online tool.

5. Encourage customers to recycle the packaging materials

Make it clear to your customers that you ship using sustainable packaging materials — they’ll appreciate your effort to go green. When you include instructions with your package on the best way for them to recycle each shipping material, you’re encouraging them to go green as well.

Unishippers wants to help you go green! Contact our team of shipping experts for more tips on going green — and how to save some green on your UPS shipping.