Amazon is building a network of micromobility hubs in the UK

Step by step, Amazon is revamping its delivery network.

To make deliveries to customers in the United Kingdom more sustainable, Amazon is increasingly using so-called micromobility hubs. The first micromobility hub in Northern Ireland recently opened.

Micromobility centers are, in fact, sorting centers in urban areas. Amazon is implementing a network of these hubs in major cities to reduce its reliance on traditional delivery vans and their associated carbon footprint.

Packages are brought from Amazon’s larger fulfillment centers to these hubs. From there, the last mile delivery to the customer takes place via electric cargo bikes or even on foot.

The company states that “millions of Amazon packages” have already been sustainably delivered from micromobility hubs in London, Manchester, Glasgow, and recently Belfast. The hubs help improve air quality and alleviate congestion on city roads, according to the market leader.

With its Climate Pledge, co-signed by hundreds of other major companies, Amazon aims to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. This is ten years earlier than the ambition outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement. To reach that goal, the ecommerce giant is making various aspects of its operations more sustainable.

Besides the last mile, as is the case with the micromobility hubs, Amazon’s sustainability initiatives involve earlier steps in the logistics process, such as the so-called middle mile and first mile. To decarbonize its transportation network in Europe, Amazon is, for example, shifting from roads to trains and boats.

Furthermore, Amazon has initiated dozens of renewable energy projects in Europe and has switched to using only recyclable boxes, bags, and envelopes for deliveries in Europe.