December 2018: Resources to Share with Your Members

Theme – Delivering Good with the Goods

The holiday season is about sharing, caring, giving, family, and community.  It’s the perfect time to remind customers and employees how a company’s contributions to a “greener” holiday season align with the meaning of the season.

As a SmartWay Affiliate, there are actions your organization can take to communicate its shared commitment to reducing transportation-related emissions:

• Along with traditional merchandising messages, encourage your members to offer a complementary message about how they are giving the gift of a more sustainable future, by shrinking their environmental footprints. 
• Ask your members to demonstrate to their customers and employees how they are adopting sustainability measures – not just during the season of giving, but all year long. This can enhance a company’s corporate image and lead to a brighter future for everyone.  This can include anything from using lower energy lighting and renewable fuels to recycling and establishing sustainability goals for their transportation supply chains. 
• Encourage your members to emphasize how they use more sustainable transportation options to deliver “good” with the goods this holiday season. This is timely given the spike in goods delivery during this time of year.
• Ask your members to provide their e-commerce customers with information on carbon offsets or lower carbon delivery options.
• Suggest ways for your members to make changes to their supply chain to reduce the number of miles per product delivery.  Switching to lower carbon fuels is one option.
• Encourage your members to publically mention how participating in SmartWay provides them with information on sustainable freight options, and the ability to quantify emission reductions to include in sustainability reporting and goal-setting.

Facts for context – Share in your newsletter, social media and on your website:

• Nearly two billion packages will be shipped this holiday season.
• Innovative supply chain strategies help companies shrink their environmental footprint.
• More flexible delivery options offer retailers, manufacturers and others new opportunities to attract and keep customers by streamlining delivery processes and improving the sustainability of last mile goods movement. Learn more about innovative and emission reducing strategies at https://www.epa.gov/smartway/smartway-shipper-partner-tools-and-resources#improve
• Companies can increase the value of their brand by demonstrating supply chain social responsibility. A recent study found that more than half of participating consumers take corporate social responsibility (CSR) into account when deciding what to buy or where to shop (logisticsbureau.com) – and sustainability, carbon footprint reduction, and supply chain transparency are all part of CSR. Learn more about freight efficiency and corporate responsibility by listening to a webinar which explores how CSR managers and logistics leaders work together creatively to tackle growing demands.  View Freight Matters Webinar: Using Freight Supply Chain Performance Benchmarking to Meet Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Demands.

Your members can share the joy of caring for both planet and people this holiday season by letting their customers and other important stakeholders know the ways in which they are delivering “good” along with the goods.