DHL's recent analysis highlights five main approaches for making last-mile delivery more sustainable, a critical area as ecommerce demand continues to rise across Europe. The identified alternatives include electrification of delivery fleets, deployment of parcel lockers to reduce delivery attempts, use of cargo bikes and microhubs in urban areas, integration of renewable energy sources, and optimization of delivery routes through advanced analytics.

These solutions address both environmental impact and operational efficiency, helping carriers and ecommerce operators meet increasingly stringent sustainability regulations and customer expectations. DHL emphasizes the importance of a tailored approach depending on local infrastructure and market conditions, suggesting a combined implementation of these alternatives is often the most effective.

For carriers and ecommerce companies operating in the Nordic and broader European markets, adopting these strategies could become a competitive differentiator while supporting broader climate goals. The analysis provides a useful framework for assessing current operations and planning investments in sustainable last-mile logistics.

Full details can be found at DHL’s Logistics of Things platform: 5 alternatives for going green in the last mile.