“A coffee with…” May Lopez, Director of Business Development for Sustainable Mobility
Logistics Madrid: Companies for Sustainable Mobility brings together companies that are committed to promoting economic, social and environmental sustainability values. How did you start this project and how has the forum evolved?
May López: The Companies for Sustainable Mobility platform was officially born on 10 October 2019. We presented it during the Madrid SUMMIT 2019 “Driving sustainable mobility from companies” and at that time 25 organisations joined the platform with the aim of promoting sustainable mobility, both for people and consumer goods, and fostering collaboration between organisations, institutions and the public administration.
Companies for Sustainable Mobility is a forum for the co-creation and promotion of benchmark solutions, a meeting point for the present and future of environmentally friendly, safe, inclusive and sustainable mobility, which offers current information and trends in the mobility sector, It generates both physical and virtual networking spaces and promotes the exchange of knowledge, experiences and ideas and the creation of initiatives, as well as the visibility of benchmark actions in sustainable mobility, in some cases through events such as SUMMIT or benchmark actions such as the National Mobility Awards.
Almost two years later, there are already more than 45 organisations that form part of this meeting point for professionals, administrations and industry that are leading the mobility, transport and commerce of the future.
Logistics Madrid: You recently announced the “Sustainable Delivery” seal that promotes responsible consumption in society. Tell us about the seal, where the idea came from and how to access it.
May L: We are all aware that e-commerce continues to grow and that with Covid-19 it has strengthened and is breaking records. What we are not all aware of is that this purchasing model has a high impact on economic, environmental and social sustainability. In fact, in July 2020, together with the EAE Business School, we published a study on the impact of Covid-19 on sustainability and ecommerce was one of the factors highlighted, as it has an impact on mobility in cities, on waste, on air quality and is associated with consumption habits such as “super urgency” or “I buy it and return it”, which make these negative impacts worse.
For this reason, the entregasostenible.org movement was created with the aim of promoting responsible consumption among society and generating greater commitment to sustainability among organisations, providing information and tools to both ecommerce and the end consumer. Specifically, the seal seeks to highlight all ecommerce and solutions committed to sustainability and to encourage consumers to make a conscious decision, empowering them as agents of change with their purchasing decisions.
We have started with an alliance with Slow Fashion Next, the benchmark organisation in sustainable fashion, as it is a high-impact sector in which brands are differentiating themselves through their commitment to sustainability and whose online sales have increased their market share of the sector’s total turnover from 9.3% to 19.4%. But all committed sectors and organisations are invited to join the ‘Sustainable Delivery’ movement. Nacex, Mondial Relay, Txita, PEFC, Ader or Inquieto are some of the more than 25 organisations that are already part of the movement.
Logistics Madrid: What about e-commerce users? What advice or tips could you give to help us do our bit and promote more responsible consumption?
May L: As users we should be aware of the positive and negative impact that our purchasing decisions can have and empower ourselves as consumers. We should avoid compulsive buying, think before clicking on the buy button if we really need it: avoid “buy it and return it” (for size, colour, because it is free…) as returns are already between 20%-30% and have a great environmental impact both in terms of consumption of natural resources, waste generation, mobility in cities… Avoiding “super urgency”, which prevents the optimisation of vehicles; prioritising the purchase of local, durable products or those from second-hand markets; consolidating deliveries at points of convenience… these are some of the actions that we are already sharing in networks, which are in our manifesto and which we will progressively expand.
In addition, we also have the possibility of being able to opt for organisations and products that use sustainability criteria in their manufacture and distribution. Choosing organisations that contribute to the SDGs, have a commitment to transparency and good governance, respect human, labour and environmental rights throughout their production chain in any part of the world, have a responsible fiscal conduct, offer a range of sustainable products… are actions that drive change. But we know that not all consumers have the time to analyse all this, which is why we help them to identify the organisations that are doing it right and working along these lines through the “Sustainable Delivery” label.
In short, it is about giving priority in our purchasing decision to those organisations that are doing it right, so that those that are not, receive the message that they must contribute to environmental, but also economic and social sustainability, generating real value wherever they operate if they want to stay in the market.
Logistics Madrid: Another hot topic in the sustainable mobility sector is electric mobility. What obstacles do you think our country has to overcome before it can be fully implemented in Spain?
May L: Although data for the second quarter of 2021 from the European Vehicle Manufacturers Association show that registrations of pure electric vehicles grew by 372.7% in Spain in the second quarter of 2021, even ahead of other European countries, we must not forget that we are starting from low figures. It is clear that in Spain there are still barriers to the development of electric vehicles that we need to remove if we want to reach the target of 5 million electric vehicles by 2030, including plug-in hybrids and 100,000 charging points.
We need to facilitate the growth in the number of registrations, as well as the charging infrastructure, but this will only be achieved by placing the user, the real agent of change, at the centre of electric mobility.
We must ensure the interoperability of the charging infrastructure to improve the user experience when recharging the vehicle. Eliminate the uncertainty perceived by the user at different points in the process, from information/disinformation on electric mobility, accessibility to subsidies, the possibility of public charging and its price, regulatory changes, the availability of models for the different segments in the market and in time…. All these are some of the conclusions we gathered from the action framed in the European Green Week “Putting the user at the centre of electric mobility”, which act as a brake when it comes to making the leap and ensuring that electric mobility is fully implemented in Spain.
It is time to learn and replicate the good practices that are already working in other countries and link public funds to projects that place the user at the centre, covering the needs of electric vehicle drivers, because this will ensure that these funds are applied in a coherent and effective manner and are the necessary trigger to achieve change.
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