Q. Hi Justin, and welcome to Carbon Offsets Daily. The recent news about cutting emissions by 30% is significant for business decision makers who are exploring ways to address their carbon footprints. Can you explain how you do it?
A. Well, we have been able to achieve this benchmark by reorganizing the common business model used in the shipping industry. Big shipping companies use a model known as “hub-and-spoke,” where they filter packages through a series of hubs before finally arriving at their destinations. For example, a package going from New York to Paris will go out of its way to Memphis and then to Brussels before finally arriving in Paris. This model is extremely wasteful and inefficient. Instead, what we do is partner with commercial airline companies. We place packages in their cargo holds that often have a great deal of extra room, which therefore allows us to get a package to its destination in one direct flight. Carbon emissions released by air transport are more damaging, since they are already so close to the atmosphere. So, being able to reduce these emissions by at least 30% when shipping direct is a significant improvement. Shipping in one direct flight also lets us deliver packages at least 24 hours sooner and for at least 20% less cost than other shippers.
Q. Something that has been catching my eye more lately is packaging materials. How does First Global Express address packaging?
A. We reuse everything. All of our packaging comes from previously used boxes, envelopes, and other shipping materials. We recently launched our new logo, but instead of throwing away our remaining supply of packaging materials with the old logo on them and producing new materials right away, we are using up our entire inventory of supplies before having anything new made. We have a motto that the greenest action is to use what you have, and we are doing just that.
Q. How do you plan to help clients take, as your website says, the “next step measuring and reducing your corporate emissions”?
A. There is an equation that allows us to calculate the total amount of CO2 emissions produced in shipping a package, which takes into account the total emissions during takeoff, landing, and the aircraft’s cruising, total flight distance, number of flights, number of packages, and package weight. We use this equation to determine the amount of carbon that our clients save by using FGX in comparison to hub-and-spoke shippers. The on our web site also allows you to calculate the hypothetical carbon savings you would achieve when shipping from New York to one of 12 cities. This number is also converted into the number of trees it would take to absorb the difference in one year, making the number more tangible and more impactful.
FGX also offers a , where we will analyze your office’s mailroom and explain options that are available to you in order to decrease your business’s carbon footprint. This includes anything related to a shipment, shipping byproducts, and methods of shipping. Also, non-clients have an opportunity that we call the which allows them to ship free with us for a week, letting them see the advantages that they will experience by shipping greener and shipping direct.
Q. For your customers, who are businesses not individuals as I understand, what is the real level of interest for the type of carbon emissions program you are pioneering?
A. Our clients come to us because they support our green philosophy and seek to reduce their carbon footprint. With the business world becoming greener and more eco-conscious, we have been able to help our clients achieve their goal of a reduced carbon output. The thing that our clients have been most pleased with is our ability to physically show them the amount of carbon they are preventing from being released into the atmosphere by using FGX. In the upcoming months, we will be starting to show the carbon savings for individual shipments on packaging slips, providing a sort of instant gratification for our clients.
Q. I can imagine First Global Express would be great in my city, can you give us the five year forecast – any expansion plans?
A. Five years down the road we plan on having FGX functioning in every major city on the East Coast. We also have plans to continue greening our business. Some of these plans include adopting a hybrid leasing program for our drivers in the city and putting more messengers on bikes and public transportation. These efforts can be tracked on our company blog, .
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It is fantastic to see a company like this take such positive steps towards being greener. I particularly love the idea of buying previously used boxes, and have done so myself for moving purposes. I got them from , who sent an entire kit including tape, packing paper and markers to my home, and shipping was FREE! They even do business orders for companies that want to be greener. The boxes were in terrific shape, and I was completely prepared for my move. Check them out, they’ll save you time, money and hassle!