How Stuart is leveraging its technology to reduce emissions

Stuart has a multi-faceted sustainability strategy as we work towards our net zero goal of 2035. As a delivery platform, leveraging our technology, alongside efforts across teams such as operations and commercial, is essential in achieving this goal.

Our tech teams work to ensure that our routing is continuously optimised, this includes minimising the distance travelled per package whilst maximising capacity as far as possible. This approach not only provides positive outcomes from an emissions perspective but also reduces costs, boosts courier earnings, and minimises congestion on our roads. 

There are several ways in which Stuart has been doing this:

• Stacking deliveries - this means merging deliveries together, ensuring one courier can deliver to multiple drop-off destinations in close proximity to the same pick-up location
• Improving routing - we work to compute the most efficient route possible from the pick-up store to the drop-off, although the courier is free to take whichever route the desire
• Reducing missed deliveries - driving down the number of instances where packages don’t make it to their final destination, resulting in later re-delivery
• Assigning closer couriers - ensuring that suitable couriers which are closest to the pick-up spot are assigned deliveries

What’s the potential for impact?

There is a huge potential for impact through our technology. Overall, our data has shown that our combined carbon reduction efforts between Q1 and Q3 2023 have resulted in a 15% reduction in CO2e per kilometre globally, with our technology levers playing a key role. On average in Q3 2023, a stacked package delivered by a courier partner using a petrol/diesel motorbike provided an 18% reduction in emissions compared to a non-stacked one globally. In addition, courier partners are able to increase their deliveries by >30% per hour thanks to stacking.

Stacking Deliveries

Improving our stacking of deliveries takes place in several ways. Firstly, our inputs and methodology are constantly being improved to identify the optimal packages that we can bundle together whilst maintaining a positive courier and client experience. Due to the on-demand nature of most of the deliveries taking place on our platform, this must take place in real-time. Secondly, the transport type mix and the package size of deliveries matter when stacking. Being able to ensure even smaller vehicle types, such as bikes and motorcycles, are able to benefit from stacked deliveries by bundling together smaller packages, rather than only larger vehicles such as cars receiving stacked deliveries, not only creates opportunities for all couriers but supports our emissions reduction efforts.

Improving routing

Our experienced courier partners often know their neighbourhoods like the back of their hands. However, our leading routing capabilities provide up-to-date information in-app to offer them the most efficient route possible at that exact moment in time. This saves couriers valuable time, increases their earnings, and provides customers with quicker deliveries. Simultaneously, more efficient routing has the potential to reduce emissions as couriers travel over shorter distances and spend less time in traffic. 

Reducing missed deliveries

Whenever a package can’t be delivered to the end customer this results in a poor experience for the customer and courier. This also can result in increased emissions as another vehicle must travel the same distance when a new delivery is attempted. We’re actively working to improve things such as improved real-time tracking, drop-off location accuracy and our processes to link end customers and couriers together to ensure a delivery is successful at the first attempt. 

Assigning closer couriers

There are a number of considerations when a courier is assigned to a delivery, however, ensuring the distance from where a courier receives an invitation to the pick-up point is reduced as far as possible is a priority. Reducing the pick-up distance decreases the average emissions per trip, whilst bringing the added benefit of couriers being able to complete deliveries more quickly, and further exercise their flexibility. 

What comes next?

Our team will continue to work on improving the above factors, however, there are also new areas of development. For example, in its current form stacking only takes place from one store with deliveries heading to multiple drop-off destinations. In the future there are other possibilities such as pooling deliveries together, allowing a courier to pick-up and drop-off packages from multiple destinations together, providing even greater opportunities for emissions reduction efforts. These developments don’t happen in isolation, and our clients are key in supporting and developing this change.