UX strategy
Defining the UX strategy for the carbon neutral shipping initiative
Client
Canada Post
Type​
B to C
Role
Service designer
Team
1 product owner​
Context
With a commitment to reducing its carbon footprint in alignment with Canada's goal of achieving Net Zero by 2050, Canada Post has embarked on its transformative journey.
This includes transitioning its fleet of 14,000 vehicles to 100 percent electric by 2040, however the initial phase involves purchasing carbon offsets to neutralize the current emissions, and this initiative is brought to the customers by offering carbon-neutral shipping for packages sent within the country.
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In March 2023, Canada Post launched the carbon neutral shipping (CNS) initiative publicaly by showcasing its sustainable products. However, this initiative moved into execution without defining any UX strategy so it started to lack consistency. ​
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For this project, my role was to have a holistic design perspective on the consumer products using the carbon neutral shipping assets, and define a strategic framework that connects Canada Post with its consumers.
Understanding the problem
What is the customers' relationship with sustainability?
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The research team conducted an intensive discovery phase to learn about the customers relationship with Canada Post and with sustainability in general and learn how they interacted with the carbon neutral shipping elements put in place few months before.
I was able to join all the interviews and collaborate with the researcher to identify gaps in the current experience and look for areas of improvement.
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I also analyzed marketing surveys, conducted best-in-class research, and created the customer journeys of a customer sending and receiving a package with carbon neutral shipping.
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From these activities, the following insights were uncovered:
Big corporations provide a lot of information about their sustainability.
Information is generally peppered throughout their website and they also propose dedicated spaces to explain in details their actions towards sustainability.
The rise of greenwashing.
It obliges honest companies to be very transparent and share their struggles facing the complex sustainability challenge in order to gain the trust of their consumers. Customers have strong concerns about greenwashing and are often skeptical about what companies say theu do about environment care, they need proof of what is advanced.
Consumers have a limited knowledge about environmental issues.
Which is in majority limited to what their see (i.e.: hybrid or electric cars) or can act on (i.e.: recycling, waste reduction). Concepts like carbon offsets are still very ununderstood.
The carbon neutral shipping initiative initiated by Canada Post is barely known by consumers.
However, they appreciated the actions taken. Mainly because of its position of governmental agency and the necessity to be a role model for this kind of initiative and show the example.
The solution
How might we bridge the gap between the strong trust of consumer towards Canada Post and the low degree of trust in corporate sustainability practices?
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It started with the vision used by marketing department: "Canada Post to be Canada's trusted sustainable carrier"
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Followed by the definition of goals, in alignment with the stakeholders:
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Increase Canada Post market share
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Increase user perception of Canada Post as a sustainable brand
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Increase engagement with Canada Post's sustainability pages
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These goals were particularly difficult to define because difficult to quantify. Another round of research (quantitative and qualitative) would be require to validate if the goals were reached.
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Finally, I mapped the insights to find common categories and looked for opportunities on websites of big corporations from different industries (such as retail, banking, services,...).
The strategy was defined using 2 folds:
First, raising consumers awareness about sustainability and carbon-neutral shipping
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By increasing the visibility of the program on more touchpoints throughout the customer journey
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By educating consumers about the sustainable concepts and also about what Canada Post is doing and how they are doing it,
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By developing their trust into the initiatives by providing details, numbers, tangible information.
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Then, increasing their engagement
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By inspiring consumers to take action into the initiatives created by Canada Post
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By helping them making better sustainable choices by explaining the impact of the different options they have
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By rewarding them for the actions they take
(Note that these 2 folds are sequential as driving engagement can be reach only if the consumers are aware of the initiatives).
Designing the solution
Proof of concept​
Build carbon neutral shipping into the end-to-end consumer journey with Canada Post.​
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Carbon-neutral shipping and carbon emissions are present throughout all the touchpoints. Online and offline​.
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The same visuals and messaging within marketing, retail, and digital experiences are used to create continuity.
Canada Post makes a priority to educate their consumers about their sustainable initiatives.
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The information is easy to find
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The details provided are clear, tangible, and easy to understand, using different types of medium
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All the initiatives are linked
Canada Post initiatives inspire their consumers to take action.
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By providing free practical information.
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By proposing to the users to leverage Canada Post initiatives by making them theirs.
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By showing them the evolution of their carbon footprint with Canada Post.
