Q & A
Interview with Hannah Lia, Operations Director, hampers.com
One of the largest privately-owned hamper retailers in the world, hampers.com offers an incredible range of over 350 different hampers, to customers across the UK, Europe and Worldwide.
In a conscious effort to become a sustainable business, hampers.com is now a certified carbon neutral organisation. In an interview with Hannah Lia, operations director – hampers.com, we spoke about their first steps towards this transition, key benefits of introducing sustainable delivery, and why more organisations need to focus on green goals.
What are the key changes and benefits your business has seen from introducing green delivery?
We are certified as a carbon neutral organisation and are committed to implementing sustainability in every aspect of our business. In addition to this we are looking to continue to reduce our carbon footprint, by looking at sustainable delivery options. The GFS logistics team consolidates multiple orders/hampers into one shipment enabling us to manage volumes, reduce first mile emissions and offer a wide range of final mile options at checkout to our customers.
Did you experience operational challenges while considering sustainable delivery options?
Green delivery services are scattered – most carriers don’t offer all the services our business requires. For instance, there are certain postcodes where the coverage is quite limited. GFS brought together all the relevant options for our business needs from multiple carriers and consolidated them, cutting out much hassle and legwork for us.
We’ve just laid the foundation now and stay committed to further any more sustainable options that will arise over the years. As sustainable delivery infrastructure evolves, we know we’ll have access to a comprehensive range of solutions under one umbrella with GFS.
It’s commonly believed that digital buyers prefer fast or next-day delivery. Does green delivery mean slower delivery?
It’s a myth that green delivery equals slower delivery – use of electric fleet with zero emissions, collection points at parcel shops and other green options by GFS’ multi-carrier service means we’re delivering at expected speed and at the same time reducing carbon emissions.
Where customers are concerned, we’ve also seen research showing consumer buying behaviour increasingly moving away from the ‘fast’ mindset. Studies have also shown 62% of consumers are willing to opt for green alternatives to home delivery if they have visibility from the seller of reduced carbon emissions.
At hampers.com, we care passionately about being sustainable and being a business for positive change. A key area for us in our sustainability journey is reducing our carbon footprint, and an important part of this process is introducing sustainable shipping. When we spoke with our GFS Account Manager about our green goals, they put together the right mix of shipping services aligned with our objective so we could initiate our steps towards sustainable delivery.
In that case, do you think the customer demand for more final mile green delivery options might increase?
Absolutely – having green options at checkout is increasingly becoming important to consumer purchase decisions. Thankfully, GFS has given us access to the widest range of sustainable delivery solutions that’ll help us stay ahead of the curve.
Apart from delivery, are you adopting other best practices to move towards green eCommerce?
Offsetting our carbon footprint is the first step towards our larger goal to secure a B Corp accreditation to demonstrate our commitment to the planet, our people, and the larger community. We are in constant pursuance of measuring our social and environmental impact as a business.
What would be your advice to businesses who are keen but hesitant to introduce sustainability to their business?
It’s best to lay the foundation blocks now – be proactive in taking the steps to do what’s right, rather than reactive to policies or laws. Taking the first step is important, and there are operationally efficient and cost-effective options to build a successful, sustainable business.
Over time, we are looking at growing our commitment and GFS has truly been the one-stop shop to access all the green delivery options available today. And that’s what we love about working with GFS – the power of choice with multiple carriers so we can continue moving forward on our wider green goals.
