Carbon offsets help cancel out “last-mile” pollution

Sustainable logistics has become a byword for companies managing complex supply chains. But until the industry moves to zero-emissions vehicles, the very act of delivering parcels or freight is bound to leave a carbon footprint. 

Now, the time-critical shipping specialist Airspace says it has found a way to “virtually” cut the emissions created by its network of drivers in North America, Southeast Asia, and Europe. For help in that endeavor, San Diego-based Airspace will partner with Cool Effect, a Greenbrae, California-based nonprofit that helps businesses go carbon neutral by funding carbon-reducing projects around the globe.

Under terms of the deal, Airspace will fund a project that prevents carbon from entering the earth’s atmosphere, thereby offsetting the emissions produced by its delivery network. Specifically, Airspace will back the “Cup of the Amazon” project, which helps protect the Peruvian Amazon from further deforestation and helps local communities develop jobs outside the logging industry.

According to Airspace Head of People Anna Goranson, the firm plans to subscribe to additional projects in the future, thus offsetting growth in its core business of delivering time-critical goods including organs for transplant, medical devices, and Covid-19 tests and vaccines.