In 2021, more than 2 billion people made purchases online amounting to 4.9 trillion in sales. However, this massive growth in online shopping has a tradeoff—packaging, shipping, and last-mile logistics leave a heavy carbon footprint behind.
That’s why Route, the leading package tracking app and shipping protection provider, decided to offer their customers a way to help neutralize carbon emissions for their shipments. They initially investigated the potential of planting a tree for every shipment, but learned that un-certified tree planting efforts can actually make the problem worse.
“Sustainability has always been important to me and something I wanted to bake into the business. Now Route is in a position to make a meaningful impact with our expansive network of users and merchants,” said Evan Walker, Founder and CEO of Route.
Seeking a partner to help navigate carbon offsets, Route turned to Patch.
A guiding hand
In order to successfully achieve their objectives, Route knew they needed carbon credit projects that would be relevant to their business, include third-party certified carbon credits, and avoid greenwashing.
“We had high standards for the launch of this effort. We wanted to understand the ins and the outs of the market and get to know our project intimately,” continued Walker.
“Patch helped us select the right project and they made it easy for us to offer customers the ability to offset their shipping emissions with 1 click.”
To get started, Patch helped Route evaluate multiple certified forestry projects around the world, all available within the Patch marketplace. Ultimately, they selected the Fazenda Nascente Do Luar Agroforestry Project in Brazil, a forestry project certified by the Verified Carbon Standard, which aims to plant 845 acres of degraded grassland with new trees. It was important for Route to support this community as some of their workforce resides in Brazil. In addition to carbon capture, it offers numerous co-benefits, including increased soil fertility, habitat building for endangered wildlife, and jobs creation amongst the local community.
Getting customers engaged
With the right project in tow, Route was ready to take the next step with their “1-Click Protect + Green” shipping, which covers the cost to neutralize shipping emissions and protects the shopper’s order from loss, theft or damage. To do so, it calculates the emissions generated by each shipment and neutralizes them with credits generated by the Fazenda Nascente Do Luar project—at no additional cost to their customers!
With online purchases accelerating faster than ever—and consumers increasingly aware of the climate impact of those shipments—Route’s “1-Click Protect + Green” shipping comes at the perfect time.
“The Patch team has been instrumental in helping provide our customers with a credible option to neutralize the emissions generated from their shipments. Once we found the right project, they made integrating it into our app seamless to meet our Earth Day launch” said Walker.
With online purchases accelerating faster than ever—and consumers increasingly aware of the climate impact of those shipments—it comes at the perfect time.
“Companies like Route that can empower their customers in minimizing or neutralizing their shipping-related emissions will continue to differentiate their offer in the market,” explained Brennan Spellacy, CEO at Patch. “For companies looking to offer climate action, implementation needs to be easy while consumers need to be engaged. As more companies watch the lead taken by organizations like Route, we're more optimistic than ever for the route ahead.”
