Absolutely - The London Courier - company logo

Sustainability

Absolutely Sustainable

Sustainability is of increasing significance for businesses across all industries with growing scrutiny on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) behaviour. It can no longer be considered either a discrete or ancillary area of focus as the changes needed to achieve ‘net zero’ carbon emissions by 2050 affect us all.

What is Absolutely’s Vision of Sustainability?

Our vision is to become the leader in the final mile logistics market from a sustainability perspective, and our early adoption of an e-cargo bike fleet exemplifies our determination to achieve this. Our short-term strategy includes maximising carbon-neutral deliveries, with the long-term goal for our entire fleet to be fully net-zero by 2030.

We also believe that our business must play its part in protecting the planet by improving our sustainable office practices and personal habits such as travel, energy use, and food and drink purchase and consumption. Whether it’s avoiding single-use plastic water bottles, investing in reusable coffee cups or cycling to work, a good place to start to reduce your environmental impact is at work.

Transitioning to zero emissions

Absolutely Courier offers eco-friendly and sustainable courier services in London, with the option for a same day bicycle or cargo bike courier instead of vans, which produce emissions and pollution. We provide businesses, and individuals, with ways to make sustainable same day deliveries without an expensive price tag or worries about the speed of your delivery.

As a company that has been operating in London for many years, we completely understand the impact of rising carbon emissions on our streets and that is why we made the strategic decision to start investing in an eco-friendly fleet of electric cargo bikes at the end of 2018. As these vehicles, by definition, produce zero emissions, they are the ideal solution for delivering items in the cleanest and most efficient way across London, including the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).

These bikes, while electrically assisted, still require human power to operate and therefore come with obvious limits to both the bikes’ range and capacity. To complement this fleet, and extend the capacity of operation, we are also investing in new ‘e DELIVER 3’ electric vans that enable the Absolutely London same day fleet to carry loads of up to 945kg.

These vans operate, in conjunction with our London eco-hub, by facilitating large loads for redistribution over the final mile by the Cargo Bikes while also making longer distance deliveries across the extended ULEZ zone.

The MAXUS e DELIVER 3 is designed from the ground up as an electric delivery van, using a combination of lightweight materials and all the expected safety features such as Electronic Stability Control (ESC), immobiliser and rear parking sensors.

Offsetting our carbon footprint

To address Absolutely’s overall carbon footprint we have partnered with Ecologi in an initiative to develop a climate-positive workforce. Ecologi is a company that provides individuals and businesses with the ability to subscribe to climate change solutions. Our monthly subscription mitigates the carbon footprint of all our colleagues, as well as contributing to the planting of trees. Specifically, our subscription now more than offsets the travel, energy use, food and hobbies of all our colleagues.

While this is a continuous activity, our funding for climate change solutions has by January 2022, after starting in September 2021), already offset 476.82 tonnes of CO2e, which is equivalent to one of the following:

> 366 long-haul flights or 1,430 square metres of sea ice saved or driving 1.2m miles in a car

Encouraging more eco-friendly practices

At Absolutely Courier, we strive to improve our sustainable practices and focus on making London a greener city. We encourage our colleagues to adopt more sustainable personal habits such as cycling or walking to work, bringing in their lunch, buying local produce, and using reusable cups and containers.

In the office we try to be as paperless as possible, only printing essential documents and providing recycling points throughout our offices. Whatever it is you’re using, the chances are you can recycle it.

Absolutely Sustainability Dashboard

The above represents a snapshot of our  Dashboard as of June 2023.

Check our latest figures by either clicking the above image or visiting the Absolutely Ecologi page.

The Absolutely Courier road to 2030 net-zero

December 2018

Investment in the largest fleet of electric cargo bikes in London puts Absolutely at the forefront of sustainability in the final mile delivery market.

January 2021

All electric e-vehicles are serviced from a 5,000ft2 zero-emissions eco-hub in central London to offer a central location for servicing and charging.

September 2021

Partnership with Ecologi to build a climate-positive workforce by subscribing to climate change solutions.

October 2021

Absolutely awarded the 2021 NCA Clean Air Award by the Institute of Couriers for its environmentally sound operating model and support of TfL’s LoCITY/Clean Air initiatives.

November 2021

MAXUS e DELIVER 3 electric delivery vans added to fleet with a delivery range of up to 213 miles.

2022

Targeting certified carbon neutral status using sustainability credits to offset current carbon emissions from the non-net-zero remainder of the fleet.

2030

Achieving the goal of a fully net-zero fleet of sustainable vehicles.

Keep track of Absolutely’s climate change progress by visiting the Absolutely Ecologi page.