Leading online transport marketplace uShip is today launching the “green transport Network,” a campaign to help van drivers go ‘green’ through reduced emissions, affordable CO2 offsetting and cost-saving sustainable business practices.
The Green Transport Network (http://greentransport.co.uk) provides an easy and verifiable way for sole trader transport companies to easily calculate their carbon footprint (based on Defra’s latest multi-delivery carbon methodology), offset their mileage through JP Morgan Climate Care and discover other ways to reduce costs. Couriers and drivers can also sign up to become carbon-balanced green transporters on uShip.
Currently, there’s a lack of clear information on fuel-efficient driving techniques and inconsistent and unclear methodologies for calculating CO2. This has made it challenging for delivery drivers to understand their individual carbon emissions impact and then take action. The Green Transport Network, with support from The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) and the Prince of Wales’ Mayday Network, is believed to be the first site of its kind dedicated to providing this typically under-represented audience the ability to take immediate eco-action.
Over the last decade, the UK’s van population has boomed by 38% to 3.24 million vehicles — and is 8 times the number of registered HGVs. Defra estimates that vans represent 14%, or about 17 million tonnes, of the UK’s 121.8 million tonnes of freight transport CO2 emissions. And that 10-15% of the time, vans drive empty, resulting in half a million tonnes of wasted carbon emissions.
David Sergeant of Preston-based DPS Transport is a uShip Power Provider (uShip ID: Goldwing1969): “One of the biggest reasons I reduce my carbon emissions is to help me save on my fuel costs. I use biodiesel for my vans, and this cuts my CO2 by 50%. It’s also a lot cheaper at around £1 per litre, and this helps me be greener in other parts of my business, like offering my customers biodegradable bubble wrap. It’s more expensive than the normal wrap, but many of my customers tell me how it’s something that they appreciate. uShip also helps me run more efficiently because it helps me find extra loads along my route so that I keep my van full. I see customers trying to be more eco friendly, and showing that my business is taking steps to reduce my environmental impact helps me win more customers and earn repeat business.”
“With 1 of every 3 van miles being used for the collection and delivery of goods, vans make a significant contribution to the UK’s economic activity. Reducing empty running, along with the use of low carbon vehicles and fuels will help reduce unnecessary CO2 emissions. An initiative such as the Green Transport Network provides a vital tool and information source that helps van drivers reduce their impact and become more aware of how to participate in the solution,” said Greg Archer, Managing Director of The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership.
“Logistics and transport are such huge contributors to green house gas, so uShip feels a continued responsibility toward greening our entire organisation. That’s why we’re proud to initiate the Green Transport Network as an extension of uShip’s ongoing environmental commitment that involves shipping customers, transporters and our internal operations,” said Matt Chasen, CEO and founder of uShip, the leading online website for moving hard to ship items.
uShip’s carbon offsetting activity builds on an inherently green transport business: Customers needing to move large items are connected with extra space in delivery vehicles that are already making the journey. This results in fewer unnecessary vans on the road and reduced emissions in the air.
Since 2006, 25,000 shipping customers have offset the CO2 impact of their deliveries on the uShip marketplace, representing 26 million offset miles by transporters ” equal to 65,000 trips from London to Edinburgh. The most significant growth in demand for this service was in 2010, when 10,000 shipping customers offset 673 tonnes of carbon from their uShip deliveries, representing 10 million offset miles by drivers. Further, uShip offsets 100% of its internal operations, including business travel, data centres, and utilities, verified through uShip’s existing U.S. partnership with TerraPass, a carbon offset retailer that also enables transporter and shipping customer contributions. Today, uShip has 5,000 carbon-balanced transporters signed up through TerraPass.
Notes to editors
For further information please contact:
Kate Hinton, for uShip, MB: 07714 708416 / kate.hinton@theprnetwork.co.uk
Dean Jutilla, uShip, MB: 0800-098-8022 ext. 133 / dean@uship.com
uShip is believed to be the leading online website for helping relieve the stress and high cost of moving hard-to-ship items, such as cars, household goods, boats, freight, heavy equipment, pets and more. Since it was founded in 2004, the uShip marketplace has attracted £125 million in business transactions, 1 million customers and 200,000 service providers. The company aspires to be the greenest online transport marketplace and currently operates a carbon-neutral business. uShip operates globally with localized functionality in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, The Netherlands, European Union, United States, Canada, and Australia.
Along with providing shipping customers the ability to offset carbon emissions caused by their deliveries, uShip also gives transporters the opportunity fund a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions that is directly proportional to the emissions created from their vans and lorries, and in doing so, balances out their contribution to global warming. http://www.uship.com/terrapass
The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) is an action and advisory group, established in 2003 to take a lead in accelerating the shift to low carbon vehicles and fuels and to help ensure that UK business can benefit from that shift. The partnership of around 200 organisations is drawn from the automotive and fuel industries, the environmental sector, government, academia and road user groups as well as other organisations with a stake in the low carbon vehicles and fuels agenda. It is part-funded by grants from the Departments for Transport and BIS. uShip are a member of the LowCVP, which was consulted on the content of the website and sources of information. http://www.lowcvp.org.uk
The Mayday Network is a collaboration of businesses taking action on climate change and resource depletion. In a non competitive space, Mayday businesses work together and with partners to seek out and promote the best solutions to the major environmental challenges we face. When taken to scale these new innovations contribute to creating the pathway to better ways of working and to a sustainable future in which businesses can prosper alongside a healthy environment and society. These tried and tested business solutions are stored on the free-to-access Mayday Journey. http://www.maydaynetwork.com
JP Morgan ClimateCare is a leader in high quality carbon offset credits in the UK. It helps lower business emissions and individual carbon footprints through credible, verified carbon reduction projects that offer a genuine way to act now. http://www.jpmorganclimatecare.com
TerraPass, Inc. launched in 2004 to help individuals and businesses reduce carbon dioxide by working directly with carbon reduction projects, providing revenue to dairy farms, landfill gas installations and other projects that yield carbon credits. To date, it has helped remove over 400,000 tonnes of CO2. uShip is a Blue Badge Partner and has participated in TerraPass’ award-winning program since 2006. http://www.terrapass.com/partners/uship
Data Sources:
1. Dept for Transport (2010) ‘Road Freight Statistics 2009’
2. Commission for Integrated Transport (2010) ‘Vans and the Economy’
3. TerraPass http://terrapass.com
4. uShip internal data logs and site statistics
For MoreInfo Visit: http://uship.com
Name: Dean Jutilla
Email: dean@uship.com
Phone: 08000988022
Country: United Kingdom
