Only ship overnight or "rush" when absolutely necessary

Problem: Overnight or “rush” delivery almost always means sending the package by air. Unfortunately planes contribute more GHG per package than trucks do and the gases are released directly into the upper atmosphere where they are more dangerous. While choosing shipping options of 2 or 3 days can still mean your package is on a plane, it gives the shipping company more of an opportunity to ship in bulk which saves on resource and transportation costs.

Solution: The best thing you can do is ship your package by ground. This means having your package ready a few days earlier so that you aren’t in a rush at the last minute to get it there. Most shipping companies can guarantee when your package will be delivered by ground even if it is not the next day.

Benefits: Shipping by ground uses about 1/5 the amount of gas that shipping by air does. And with the cleaner burning diesel trucks that are just beginning to replace traditional trucks contribute much less to global warming.

Costs: If a package really needs to be somewhere the next day you might not have the option of shipping by ground but with some good planning avoiding overnight deliveries can save over 80 percent on shipping costs.