I'm not much of a shopper, but when I buy stuff, I prefer to do it online. I don't like shopping malls, driving in traffic, crowded stores or dealing with "customer service" people. I do enjoy getting packages at home.
Now, it turns out, there may be another reason to shop online: E-commerce is a way to help fight climate change.
So, at least, says eBay and a carbon-footprint consulting firm called Cooler, in a report due out today. In particular, the report argues, eBay's business of enabling peer-to-peer selling and small retailers generates significant environmental value. You'd expect eBay to say that, of course, but there's logic behind the claim. The report says:
By minimizing infrastructure, reducing the need for warehousing, and maximizing transportation efficiency, small online retailers have created a climate-friendly way to buy and sell. All-electronic, with no need for everything from mannequins to signage to giant rooftop air conditioning units, they have dematerialized considerable parts of the retail process.
This morning, I'll be moderating a discussion about the study at the National Press Club with John Donahoe, eBay’s president and CEO; Michel Gelobter, the founder of Cooler and author of the white paper; and Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. [Disclosure: eBay is paying me to host the event.]
This Washington showcase for Donahoe, to which environmental leaders have been invited, is the latest effort by eBay's to position itself as an environmentally-friendly company, largely because it sells used products. [See my blogpost Why eBay is a Green Giant and this GreenBiz.com interview with Donahoe.] To its credit, eBay is also a founding member of BICEP, a coalition of companies pushing for climate change regulation.
I have to admit that I was skeptical about eBay's claim that e-commerce is climate-friendly when I heard about it from Amy Skoczlas Cole, who leads eBay's Green Team. After all, aren't big retailers like Walmart renowned for their efficiency, their logistics, their fine-tuned global supply chains? The economies of scale and all that?
Well, yes, but peer-to-peer retailers -- the small businesses supported by eBay -- tend to be pretty efficient, too, because they have to be. (The last time I bought a book online from a small store, it came in a previously-used box.)
trade-offs either way
Ebay may be lower carbon for their operational efficiencies and having a focus on the secondary economy, buying second-hand goods does double the usage value of the embedded carbon before the item is finally sent to the dump or the recycling bin.
As a mechanism for being sustainable or 'green', e-commerce doesn't deserve the merit. It is just a newer and more convenient method of feeding consumerism. In contrast to the cost saving benefits from using less energy, e-commerce is contributing to job loss and reduced employment opportunities for those at the bottom of the pyramid.
Skeptical
Whether or not e-commerce is 'green' is not going to change the fact that an overwhelming majority of people like to try things on and test products out, something that is obviously missing in cyberspace. I guess while we're on the topic, I'd like to know what percentage of sales on ebay result in a mixed-up order or return--either of which require a product to be shipped a minimum of three times, often from extremely long distances, to reach the final end consumer. The author of this article posed another great question--how much stuff on ebay is really joe shmoe selling stuff out of his mom's basement, vs. large retailers who have tapped into the ebay market?
ebay's motivation for driving this claim of being 'green' is undoubtedly centered on attracting the emerging green generation of consumers to their site. Now I'm just wondering, who really cares if ebay is green? I do, however, appreciate ebay's efforts to promote climate change regulation.
Ecommerce is climate friendly
Ecommerce is climate friendly not just in how it does business, but also in what it prevents. When you buy online, you're not driving to and from the mall. You're also not making any impulse buys (they're much less common online) which means you're consuming less. It's win-win!