The urgency for companies to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles is underscored as demand for e-commerce, and with it last-mile deliveries, soars. The result: more fossil-fuel based trucks on the road that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions worsening air pollution. Companies are setting ambitious climate goals, and zero-emissions shipping will be critical for hitting these targets.

But, currently, there remain significant barriers to the ability of companies to meet clean shipping goals. Until now, companies have not been able to secure zero-emissions shipping when they don’t own or operate their own vehicles. This report introduces the concept of a Zero-Emissions Delivery Zone (ZED Zone), a new innovative financing model that can accelerate commercial vehicle electrification, while delivering substantial financial, social and environmental returns for forward-thinking investors. 

In this report, a critical gap is identified: no mechanism exists for companies to get to zero emissions shipping in their supply chain when they don’t directly own or operate the vehicles. Hence, this report is designed to examine why companies should embrace a ZED Zone model and thus aims to provide solutions that can unlock solutions for driving environmental and health benefits as explained further in the report.