What If
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Groceries Online Instead
of Driving to a Store?
Driving to the grocery store each week can be a hassle. For those who have health or
mobility issues that make it difficult to shop, and for the growing number of U.S. households
that don't own a car, getting groceries can be a challenge. How convenient it may be to,
instead, have groceries delivered straight to your doorstep. About 15% of Americans have
tried online grocery shopping at least once.1 This number is likely to increase as delivery
services from traditional grocery stores, food co-ops, and online retailers become available
in more cities and regions across the country. What impact will this have on the environment?
Delivery trucks typically get fewer miles to the gallon than cars, but each household
making individual trips to the store isn't efficient or pollution-free either. What if more
people bought their groceries online?
EACH YEAR, OVER 17 MILLION
METRIC TONS OF C02 POLLUTION
ARE ASSOCIATED WITH WEEKLY
HOUSEHOULD TRIPS TO THE
GROCERY STORE (EQUIVALENT TO
THE ANNUAL CARBON POLLUTION
FROM OVER 3 MILLION CARS)
What's the big deal?
A recent USDA survey found that in 88% of U.S
households, people hop in their car to buy grocer-
ies, driving an average of 4 miles to their preferred
store.2 If each of these households took at least one
trip per week, that would add up to over 42 billion
miles driven roundtrip each year—about 10 times
the distance to Pluto!3 All these car trips result in
carbon pollution: over 17 million metric tons of C02
come from car tailpipes just from driving back and
forth to the grocery store. That number may even be
higher, since many families take more than one trip
per week. ("Oh no! We're out of milk again.")
1	Hartman Strategies, The Future of E-Commerce in Modern Food Culture, HartbeatExec, 4, no. 2 (2014).
2	Ver Ploeg, Michele, Lisa Mancino, Jessica E. Todd, Dawn Marie Clay, and Benjamin Scharadin. Where Do Americans Usually Shop for
Food and How Do They Travel To Get There? Initial Findings From the National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey,
ElB-138, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, March 2015, available at:
https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=79791
3	We assumed 115,610,216 households based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's QuickFacts accessed in 2015. You can find the
current QuickFacts at: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/00. Note that because the data is periodically updated,
the number of U.S. households may differ from what is listed here.
'-'"'ted States
Environmental Protection
LI m * Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
EPA-420-F-16-001
January 2016

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What would it be like?
By letting your food share a ride with other orders, grocery delivery has the potential to reduce the number
of vehicles on the road. However, how much this would lower pollution —if at all—depends on many
factors. Consider the following examples.4
Case 1: You and 29 other households in your neigh-
borhood request delivery from the local grocery
store on the same day. You each give the company
flexibility to deliver at a time that allows them
to make all deliveries in one trip. In addition, the
company uses a relatively fuel efficient delivery
truck that gets 14 mpg. In this case, ordering online
could cut greenhouse gases (GHGs) in half com-
pared to each houshehold driving to the store.5
Case 2: You and your neighbors request deliveries
in narrow time windows that you find more conve-
nient. Now the company can only deliver 9 other
orders along with yours. The delivery truck has a
fuel economy of only 10 mpg. In this case, ordering
online causes more GHG emissions than would
driving to the store.
How can we reduce GHGs from grocery delivery?
¦S Tomorrow's trucks will be more efficient. Standards set by EPA and DOT require trucks to reduce
GHG emissions and improve fuel economy each year through 2018 and additional standards have
been proposed through 2027.
¦S Alternative fuels hold promise. Using hydrogen fuel to refrigerate the trucks and keep cargo cool,
or using hydrogen or electricity to power delivery trucks, could reduce GHGs.
¦S Your choices matter. Try to be flexible so delivery trucks can optimize their routes and avoid extra
trips. Some grocery stores provide discounts for choosing longer delivery windows.
¦S Place as much as you can in each order to avoid frequent delivery trips. You may even consider
"grocery-pooling" with neighbors by requesting delivery at the same time.
¦S If available, consider a grocery service that delivers by bike or foot! Of course, if you are able to
walk, bike, or take public transit to do your shopping, that will always be a low pollution option.
Next time you're deciding whether to grab the car keys or your mouse, just consider the above as some
food for thought.
4	We compare emissions from delivery service to an individual who drives eight miles roundtrip to the grocery store in a 22 mpg car. Any GHG
benefits from delivery would be reduced for individuals driving higher mpg cars. The diagram and two case study routes are examples for
illustrative purposes only. The total miles driven for delivery routes will vary based on geographic density and other factors. For simplicity, we
assumed the deliveries originate from the same store that customers use. In practice, grocers may ship from local depots or regional ware-
houses causing different emissions impacts.
5	Even when grocery delivery reduces GHGs, other harmful pollutants like NOx and particulate matter could increase.
•	Case 1: 30 homes; 54 mile delivery route
•	Case 2: 10 homes; 34 mile delivery route

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