5 Green Methods of Transporting Goods

        Science | Green Science

On Foot

There are many compelling reasons for a cargo transportation company to go green. Saving money on fuel is a big one, as is reducing the company’s carbon footprint. But sometimes, the best reason to go green is that it works a heck of a lot better. That’s the case with the greenest delivery method on the planet: foot couriers.

In huge cities like New York, London and Shanghai, the traffic can be so stiflingly slow and parking so non-existent, that only a true masochist would try to navigate the snarl with a 30-foot (9.14-meter-) delivery truck. If the wasted time, wasted fuel and parking tickets don’t get you, the insane drivers will. In situations like these, shipping companies like DHL and FedEx have ditched trucks altogether and employ a fleet of fleet-footed couriers.

DHL couriers push large plastic carts that hold dozens of heavy packages. They’ve been delivering time-sensitive packages to congested neighborhoods like Wall St. since 1984. The carts consume zero fuel and produce zero emissions, although the average human exhales 2.3 pounds (1.04 kilograms) of carbon dioxide. Watch this video of a FedEx foot courier in China and be thankful that your commute doesn’t take you through rush hour in Shanghai.

As the world gets more crowded and its population uses more of its resources, eco-friendly industrial solutions will be become increasingly important. As it becomes easier to transport goods without much of a carbon footprint, the world will become cleaner, less crowded and less polluted.