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Study details the negative environmental impact of online shopping
Frequent shopping for single items adds to our carbon footprint.
10 July, 2020
Photo by George Frey/Getty Images
- A new study shows e-commerce sites like Amazon leave larger greenhouse gas footprints than retail stores.
- Ordering online from retail stores has an even smaller footprint than going to the store yourself.
- Greening efforts by major e-commerce sites won't curb wasteful consumer habits. Consolidating online orders can make a difference.
<p>Walmart <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/7/7/21314767/walmart-plus-grocery-delivery-amazon-prime-membership-loyalty-program-walmart" target="_blank">recently announced</a> plans to battle Amazon in the massive online shopping market. At $98/year, Walmart+ offers many of the same perks, including same-day grocery delivery, as well as discounts at Walmart gas stations, one of the few things Amazon cannot offer (yet). Of course, it lacks the entertainment perks of Amazon Prime, such as the automatic subscription to numerous TV shows and movies.</p><p>Another important distinction: Walmart is offering discounts on fossil fuels while Amazon has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-creating-fleet-of-electric-delivery-vehicles-rivian-2020-2" target="_blank">promised</a> to create a fleet of 100,000 electric delivery vans in order to become completely carbon neutral by 2040. That said, Walmart does <a href="https://corporate.walmart.com/esgreport/environmental#climate-change" target="_blank">have plans</a> for reducing its carbon footprint as well. Unfortunately, these ambitious plans likely won't impact harmful consumer habits, which are rooted in the conveniences that online retailers offer. </p><p>Earlier this year, a <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.9b06252" target="_blank">study</a> from researchers in the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, confirmed what many expected: online shopping is worse for the environment than going to the store yourself. This contradicts previous research championing online shopping. </p><p>While Amazon boasts of its greening efforts, the corporation's current protocols are horrendous. Many packages are glorified Matryoshka dolls. I recently ordered a three-inch cable that arrived wrapped in two boxes, padded by three layers of brown wrapping paper and plastic. </p><p>There seems to be no uniform shipping policies. Some books arrive in white padded envelopes, others in thin brown envelopes, some in boxes. While supply chain management is tricky, a company cannot both claim to be environmentally friendly <em>and</em> notoriously unreliable. Online retailers bank on convenience, not being stewards of nature. </p><p>The researchers investigated production distribution disparities in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs), such as personal care and home care products, between physical stores, "bricks and clicks" (fulfillment via physical store deliveries), and non-store-based e-commerce sites, known as "pure players." They conclude that the latter considerably increases greenhouse gas (GHG) footprints. </p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ0ODQ0Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NzM2NjkzNn0.aFgxj8Ahqqulac7YUz8BI-erwlguufaS8USZE8wjjkU/img.jpg?width=980" id="9ea0e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="522b395495c97cd24b9f731850b2f911" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="piles of cardboard inside recycling warehouse" />
A pile of recycled cardboard sits on the ground at Recology's Recycle Central on January 4, 2018 in San Francisco, California.
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
<p>A large part of the reason is speed. In a competitive market, pure players use the equation, <em>speed + convenience</em>, to drive adoption. This is especially relevant to the "last mile" GHG footprint: the distance between the distribution center and the consumer.</p><p>Interestingly, the smallest GHG footprint occurs when you order directly from a physical store—even smaller than going there yourself. Pure players, such as Amazon, are the greatest offenders. Variables like geographic location matter; the team looked at shopping in the UK, the US, China, and the Netherlands. </p><p>Sadegh Shahmohammadi, a PhD student at the Netherlands' Radboud University and corresponding author of the paper, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/26/tech/greenhouse-gas-emissions-retail/index.html" target="_blank">says</a> the above "pattern holds true in countries where people mostly drive. It really depends on the country and consumer behavior there."</p><p>The researchers write that this year-and-a-half long study pushes back on previous research that claims online shopping to be better in terms of GHG footprints.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"They have, however, compared the GHG emissions per shopping event and did not consider the link between the retail channels and the basket size, which leads to a different conclusion than that of the current study."</p><p>Online retail is where convenience trumps environment: people tend to order one item at a time when shopping on pure player sites, whereas they stock up on multiple items when visiting a store. Consumers will sometimes order a number of separate items over the course of a week rather than making one trip to purchase everything they need. </p><p>While greening efforts by online retailers are important, until a shift in consumer attitude changes, the current carbon footprint will be a hard obstacle to overcome. Amazon is trying to have it both ways—carbon-free and convenience addicted—and the math isn't adding up. If you need to order things, do it online, but try to consolidate your purchases as much as possible.</p><p>--</p><p><em>Stay in touch with Derek on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/derekberes" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DerekBeresdotcom" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://derekberes.substack.com/" target="_blank">Substack</a>. His next book is</em> "<em>Hero's Dose: The Case For Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy."</em></p>
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How the last two centuries led to today’s economy
The best and worst of yesterday has created the economy of today.
24 April, 2020
- Adam Davidson, co-founder of NPR's Planet Money, can trace a line through time from homemade clothing and baked goods to today's passion economy. Davidson argues that a combination of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are how we got to where we are.
- We shifted from an intimate and localized economy of goods and services, to an economy of scale, and finally to what Davidson refers to as "intimacy at scale."
- There are, of course, positive attributes to this hybrid economic system, but it also comes with some of the flaws of its predecessors.
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<div class="amazon-assets-widget__title" style="display: block;">The Passion Economy: The New Rules for Thriving in the Twenty-First Century</div>
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How is the passion economy changing the way we look at jobs?
The rules have changed, and so have we.
31 March, 2020
- The widget economy has given way to something entirely different: the passion economy.
- Whereas the previous economy was fueled by mass production and homogeneity, growth in the passion economy involves more specialized products that less people want more intensely.
- This shift creates more dynamic, less linear career paths that evolve and change as you do. Ultimately, this will lead to more fulfilling and better paid work.
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'Fly something else': Former Boeing manager refuses to fly on the 787 Dreamliner
In a recent interview, a former Boeing quality manager cited numerous safety concerns in the 787 Dreamliner.
03 December, 2019
- John Barnett worked as a quality manager at Boeing for three decades, but recently left the company due, in part, to his concerns over issues in the production of the 787 Dreamliner.
- In a recent interview with Corporate Crime Reporter, Barnett said he would "change flights before I would fly a 787. I've told my family — please don't fly a 787."
- The allegations follow up two 737 crashes that occurred earlier in 2019, calling into question the airline company's dedication to safety standards.
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<p>The past few years have not been good for Boeing. First, in October of 2018, a 737 Max crashed just after take-off from Jakarta, killing 189 people. Then again, in March, another Max flight crashed after take-off in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing 157 people. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/business/boeing-737-crashes.html" target="_blank">Ensuing reviews</a> revealed that the Boeing failed to adequately train its pilots on a new system responsible for the crash, refused to install safety systems that could have mitigated the crashes, and even pushed for laws that would cut back on oversight.</p><p>Now, a former quality manager for Boeing explained in a recent interview with <em><a href="https://www.corporatecrimereporter.com/news/200/john-barnett-on-why-he-wont-fly-on-a-boeing-787-dreamliner/" target="_blank">Corporate Crime Reporter</a></em> why these issues aren't limited to just the 737, and why he refuses to fly on Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.</p>
Lowered safety standards
<p>John Barnett had been a quality manager for Boeing for three decades, work which he enjoyed until he was transferred to Boeing's plant in Charleston, South Carolina, where the 787 is manufactured. Soon after his arrival in 2010, a new leadership team whose previous experience centered on Boeing's military projects began overseeing work on the commercial airliner at the plant.</p><p>"They started pressuring us to not document defects," said Barnett, "to work outside the procedures, to allow defective material to be installed without being corrected. They started bypassing procedures and not maintaining configurement control of airplanes, not maintaining control of non-conforming parts — they just wanted to get the planes pushed out the door and make the cash register ring."</p><p>At first, Barnett claims, these lapses started out as administrative issues, such as encouraging workers to improperly fill out paperwork. "Over time it got worse and worse," he said. They began to ignore defective parts installed on the planes and basic issues related to aircraft safety.</p><p>For example, one audit uncovered that approximately 25 percent of oxygen masks didn't work. Defective parts became lost in the system, only to be later discovered installed on flying aircraft. Barnett particularly recalls several defective bulkheads being installed without having been repaired.</p><p>Another major issue were the metal slivers. When securing the plane's floorboard with titanium fasteners, 3-inch-long slivers of razor-sharp metal would fall down into the compartment where the aircraft's sensitive electronic equipment lies. </p><p>"That surface below the floor board is where all of your flight control wires are, that's where all of your electronic equipment is," said Barnett. "It controls systems on the airplane, it controls the power of the airplane. All of your electronic equipment is down where all of these metal slivers are falling." Even at the Charleston plant, Barnett described how these slivers would cause electrical shorts and start fires. As the planes vibrate, these metal slivers eventually work their way into the wire bundles and connectors with the potential to cause these issues during flight.</p><blockquote>I want the people to know what they are riding on.</blockquote><p>Barnett filed complaints with multiple members of the Boeing team, which he asserts resulted in his reassignment to a stand-alone department that isolated him from other quality managers. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) did come in and do an audit, substantiating Barnett's claims. As a result of this, the FAA told Boeing that no more planes could be delivered that contained those metal slivers. However, Boeing had determined that the metal slivers were not a safety issue on the planes they had already delivered, and so the customers did not need to be informed. "And at the time," said Barnett, "I think we were up around 800 airplanes that had been delivered. Every 787 out there has these slivers out there."</p><p>Without seeing significant improvements, Barnett filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in January 2017. As of this writing, OSHA is still investigating and has not made any determinations.</p><p>Barnett stressed that he was a fan of Boeing's planes overall, asserting that the previous planes he worked on were built to be safe and airworthy. "But as far as the 787, I would change flights before I would fly a 787. I've told my family — please don't fly a 787. Fly something else. Try to get a different ticket. I want the people to know what they are riding on."</p>
Lowering the regulatory bar
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjEyNTkwOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDYxNzc3N30.2xFBWPSPOcfrgmqDOxjbfhPHFdAQcJSog7kb6NcTUOQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="698e2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c1dceb48a74250466bb2652a7ee0a42f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Wreckage from the March 2019 crash of a 737 Max airliner outside of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Xinhua/ via Getty Images
<p>These allegations add on to previous criticisms that the airline company is putting profit ahead of safety as a means of staying ahead of its major competitor, Airbus. Together, they effectively form a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/25/why-the-airbus-boeing-companies-dominate-99percent-of-the-large-plane-market.html" target="_blank">duopoly</a> in the airline industry, and staying ahead of its competitor in the already challenging industry has pushed Boeing to cut corners. <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2019/11/02/boeing-deadly-crashes-and-failure-american-oversight/GacWOc3O8HVOM1ZWmwVIsN/story.html" target="_blank">Critics</a> assert that the company intentionally skipped training pilots in new systems and procedures, a decision which may have led to the two 737 crashes earlier in 2019 and 2018.</p><p>Compounding these issues, the company has successfully lobbied for reduced oversight as well. The most recent manifestation of this was Boeing's lobbying efforts toward the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, a bill that the FAA <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/27/business/boeing-737-max-crashes.html" target="_blank">claimed</a> would "not be in the best interest of safety." A former FAA attorney claimed that "it set the FAA up for being totally deferential to the industry." Coupled with Barnett's claims that the company has been ignoring quality concerns in the 787 Dreamliner and the 737's recent crashes, this hamstrung regulatory environment does not inspire confidence.</p>
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Is Rwanda in line to become one of Africa's major tech hubs?
Recent years have seen countries across the African continent investing deep into the tech industry. Rwanda is angling to get ahead of the pack.
18 October, 2019
Thierry Falise/LightRocket via Getty Images
- The recent announcement of the Mara phone, a smartphone manufactured entirely in Africa, has highlighted African countries' recent forays into the high-tech industry.
- The continent boasts more than 450 tech hubs, and while some countries have a larger market, Rwanda — where Mara phones are manufactured — is angling to become a major tech hotspot in East Africa.
- There's a lot of competition; what is Rwanda doing to try to beat it?
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<p>For the past few decades, Africa has been changing. Despite a history of setbacks ranging from colonialism, corruption, and civil wars, countries in the continent have begun to see growing infrastructure and investment from <a href="https://bigthink.com/matt-davis/chinas-growing-influence-in-africa" target="_self">foreign companies</a> and a slew of new, <a href="https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/kenya-wind-farm" target="_self">local startups</a>.</p><p>In particular, Africa's tech scene seems to be especially thriving. According to venture capital firm Partech Africa, African tech startups raised $1.163 billion in equity funding in 2018, a <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/rwanda/overview" target="_blank">108 percent</a> year-over-year growth. These startups are clustering in the nearly 450 active tech hubs that dot the continent. Now, Rwanda is angling to stand out from the pack.</p><p>In the past decade, Rwanda has developed impressively quickly, averaging 7.5% GDP growth, which is among the highest on the continent. This is in part due to tech ventures like the Mara Group's recently released Mara Phone, which has taken the title of the first African-made smartphone. Other smartphones have been made in Africa before, but Mara phones are the <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90414915/rwandas-mara-x-z-are-1st-smartphones-made-fully-in-africa" target="_blank">first</a> to manufacture all of its components in Africa. </p><p>Mara is manufacturing two phones in the country: the Mara X, which boasts 16 GB at a $130 price tag, and the Mara Z, with 32 GB and a $190. The Mara Group's CEO, Ashish Thakkar told <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/08/africa/rwanda-smartphone-factory/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> that tech and smartphones in particular were key to supporting African societies. </p><p>"We realized a few years ago that to create positive social impact on our continent. ... We need to have high quality and affordable smartphones," said Thakkar. "This will enable financial inclusion." In building the phones, Thakkar hopes to give Africans a third option beyond choosing between smartphones that are "high quality but not affordable, or affordable but not high quality." </p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjAxMzMyNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MDM5NzIxOX0.lJqE28rO2f8c692gXrg27OZ6LWpBBIeNpH_sPUBgb_w/img.jpg?width=980" id="b6d0f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b83a2986b9a02adf1e489328058388fb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Mara smartphones" />
The Mara X, shown in three colors.
<p>Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, is already turning into a regional tech hub for East Africa, hosting events like the Africa Tech Summit and the GSMA Mobile 360 Africa. Though other East African countries like Kenya boast a larger concentration of tech companies, Rwanda stands out for its rapid growth in the tech scene and for how easy the country makes it to do business there.</p><p>The World Bank has listed Rwanda at 29<sup>th</sup> in its 2019 "<a href="http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/606921541165353422/Doing-Business-2019-Training-for-Reform-Rwanda" target="_blank">Doing Business</a>" report, in part because of the government's promotion of information and communication technology. For instance, the country offers an entrepreneur visa, free spaces to work from, steady rule of law, and a quick registration process for businesses, features which have led some to call it the "<a href="https://moguldom.com/138574/for-tech-startups-rwanda-is-becoming-the-test-kitchen-of-africa/" target="_blank">test kitchen of Africa</a>."</p><p>Turning Rwanda into a high-tech hub, however, depends quite a bit on having the appropriate infrastructure and resources. Five years ago, Rwanda had little 4G coverage, but today, that number has reached over <a href="https://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/four-years-later-95-rwanda-covered-4g-internet" target="_blank">95 percent</a>. Thanks to that infrastructure, start-ups have been able to introduce a variety of projects, such as implementing a cashless <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/business-48911746/rwanda-bids-to-become-high-tech-hub" target="_blank">tap-and-go</a> system for the Kigali bus system and offering <a href="http://www.itwebafrica.com/unified-communications/669-rwanda/245269-rwanda-to-roll-on-public-transport-wi-fi-in-2019" target="_blank">wi-fi</a> on public transportation.</p><p>The resources necessary for a successful tech business are starting to accumulate in Rwanda, as well. The pan-African company <a href="https://www.newtimes.co.rw/business/executive-watchandela-rwanda-opens-kigali-office" target="_blank">Andela</a>, which identifies and trains software engineers, has opened an office in Kigali. Last year, they signed an agreement with the Rwandan government to recruit and offer six months of paid training in software development to up to 500 Rwandans. </p><p>Rwanda has also partnered with China's Alibaba to establish Africa's first <a href="https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/2171148/rwanda-joins-alibaba-led-electronic-world-trade-platform-amid-us" target="_blank">electronic world trade platform</a>, which provides Rwandan enterprises with cloud computing and mobile payment services to enable local companies to sell their products and services outside of Rwanda. This last example also highlights China's investment in African countries in general, and its timing — at the height of the U.S.-China trade war — demonstrates how China is looking to expand its <a href="https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/2171148/rwanda-joins-alibaba-led-electronic-world-trade-platform-amid-us" target="_blank">trading partners</a>.</p><p>Similar changes are taking place all over Africa. While Chinese investors are trying to turn the continent into the next "factory of the world," it may be the case that in the coming decades, Africa and Rwanda will have fewer factories than they will high-tech hotspots.</p>
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