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Sustainable delivery company gofor has unveiled what the firm calls a “new brand, new mission, and new philosophy”. The rebranding also includes a new website: deliverbetter.com.
The Ottawa-based company promises 100-per-cent carbon-free deliveries via a combination of electric vehicles (EVs) and carbon offsets.
gofor’s proprietary approach, according to the website, uses an algorithm to track the least carbon-intensive route to delivery. The company has a goal of converting 50 per cent of its fleet to electric by 2025, although the size of its fleet varies daily based on the amount of deliveries made.
For every delivery made in a non-electric vehicle, the company promises to purchase carbon offsets.
“We see an immense opportunity to add value at the point of delivery,” said Ian Gardner, gofor’s CEO, in a statement on the rebrand. “The cultural shifts underfoot are moving our direction by extending brands to the doorstep and into the living room, and wealth creation opportunities for our drivers.”
gofor’s business model
gofor, founded in 2016, serves over 120 metro locations in Canada and the U.S. Pricing varies depending on the number of weekly deliveries made.
For businesses, gofor can provide same-day, scheduled or three-hour deliveries based on a variety of factors.
Some of the requirements to be a gofor driver include owning a vehicle, proof of vaccination, being 23 or older and the ability to lift 50 lbs.
In January, gofor signed the Climate Pledge, a commitment to net-zero carbon by 2040 founded by Amazon and the London-based environmental organization Global Optimism. It currently has 314 global signatories.
In March, the company partnered with the Luxembourg-based Odin Automotive to deploy Odin’s EV delivery vehicles in the U.S. and Canada starting in the second quarter of this year. Currently, that translates to up to 3,266 of Odin’s electric light commercial vehicles, starting with the class-2 Max Box, planned by the end of 2023.
Odin’s vehicles have been in production in Germany for seven years. The company currently has over 7,000 EVs on the road.
The firm also says it has a plan to assist drivers who currently don’t own their own vehicles to eventually acquire one. A gofor spokesperson told Electric Autonomy, “We intend to make gofor EVs available for rent on an hourly basis to do delivery runs. Over time, this will create a path to ownership and financial independence and freedom for them.”
The same release states this partnership would make gofor one of the first efleet-as-a-service providers in North America. This would also ensure its network of over 10,000 independent drivers and franchise fleet owners will no longer depend on what gofor calls increasingly unpredictable gas or diesel prices.
In 2020 the World Economic Forum found urban deliveries are expected to increase carbon emissions by 30 per cent, or 20 million tonnes of CO2, by 2030, as well as adding 11 minutes to daily commutes.
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