1 posts and columns on H. Scott Matthews

The Green Side of Online Shopping

in News on March 3, 2009 at 11:46 am PT

E-commerce reduces the environmental impact of shopping by using about a third less energy than traditional retail–but only if you skip the express airmail. A study out Tuesday by the Carnegie Mellon Green Design Institute offers a scientifically rigorous estimate of e-commerce’s green benefits. E-commerce not only uses less energy, but its carbon footprint is also a third smaller than bricks-and-mortar retail, the scientists found.