Back in the day, sustainability in vending meant using recyclable cups, but today it’s about making day-to-day operations eco-friendly because customers and location owners genuinely care about the environment.
Operators are prioritizing durable equipment, energy-efficient logistics, and scalable systems with a better carbon footprint.
In this blog post, we’ll explore how automated retail will become more sustainable over the next five years and how it will influence operators.
Let’s start by laying out how vending customers think about sustainability.
What do Vending Customers Think About Sustainability?
Younger generations of customers are more focused on sustainability, which is reflected in their buying choices.
According to data from ChangeStore Age, customers across generations think sustainability is important, with Gen Z willing to pay more for sustainable products (73%), followed by Millennials (68%) and Gen X (55%).
When we think about vending customers, the first thing that comes to mind is the demographics of the location where the vending machines are placed.
For instance, gym foot traffic is composed of Millennials and Gen Z.
Schools and educational institutions are mostly Gen Z customers.
Large office buildings have a mixed employee audience with Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X.
If operators become more sustainable, they can differentiate themselves from competitors and provide better service.
How to Make Your Vending Business More Sustainable
How to Make Your Vending Business More Sustainable?
There are two pieces to making your vending business more sustainable:
1. Understanding which practices in vending lead to more sustainable operations and outcomes
2. Using software to track and support those practices
Businesses like Selecta, Coca-Cola, and Seeberger are already implementing sustainability strategies in their corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies.
But even smaller businesses with dozens of machines across a region can make changes, become more sustainable, and align with their customers’ values.
Here are six practices that will become standard for operators who want to be more ecologically sustainable:
1. Reduced Fuel Consumption for Refill Trips
The vending industry is very fuel-dependent.
Products constantly move in and out of the warehouse, and field staff restock machines, collect cash, and fix technical issues.
All that fieldwork requires a lot of driving and is the biggest contributor to a business’s carbon footprint.
Heavy Vehicle Inspection analyzed truck-fleet fuel efficiency and found that 17% of fuel is wasted annually on idling, inefficient routes, and aggressive driving.
Operators typically cluster machines in high-density areas to minimize travel distance between locations. This reduces fuel consumption, vehicle wear and tear, travel time, and more.
However, better clustering goes beyond geographical distance.
With real-time telemetry and sophisticated AI algorithms, operators can create on-demand refill routes based on future consumption trends, along with fillers’ available time, service hours, and geographic distance.
This means every machine will be visited if the cost of the visit is less than the potential sales you’d miss.
In practice, this means you’ll use less fuel to keep your machines restocked without hurting sales revenue.
This is called dynamic routing, and it’s the future of sustainable vending.
2. Add Sustainable Products to Your Vending Machines
Some food and drink producers are highly mindful of ethical and ecological standards and have carbon-neutral production methods.
Operators can use several certifications to identify sustainably sourced products and sell them at vending machines, smart coolers, and micro markets.
- Products with a Fair Trade mark guarantee that farmers and workers in developing countries where the ingredients were sourced have been compensated fairly, have safe working conditions, and that the whole supply cycle meets ecological standards.
- B Corp Certification designates that a business meets high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency.
- FSC certificates confirm economic and sustainable forest management and ensure products are made from reclaimed materials and controlled sources.
Once you’ve stocked your machines with certified sustainable products, highlight them to make it easier for customers to choose.
3. Reduce Plastic Packaging, Recycle and Use Biodegradable Wrapping
One of the highest demands put before manufacturers and retailers, in general, is the reduction of plastic use. Plastic is not just an environmental hazard; it’s also unhealthy and carcinogenic.
Luckily, plastic can be recycled.
One kilogram of recycled plastic reduces carbon dioxide emissions by two kilograms. Many companies have already committed to using recycled plastic for packaging.
There is also a trend of using multi-use or multi-purpose packaging.
As an operator, you should adjust to these trends and consider offering products with recycled/recyclable packaging in your vending machines.
Although recycling plastic is very effective, according to the EPA, the U.S. recycling rate was only 8.7% in 2018, meaning that over 91% of plastic does not get recycled.
That’s why Gen Z wants to eliminate the source of the problem – stop using plastic wherever they can.
There is an increasing trend in the vending industry to use paper cups, straws, and coffee stirrers all over the world, mainly in European countries.
Market Reports World data found that in 2023, 55% of OCS corporate clients requested that providers create waste reduction plans, which included reusable cups and pods that are biodegradable.
4. Use energy-efficient machines
In recent years, traditional vending solutions have come a long way by steadily transitioning to more energy-efficient vending machines.
Depending on the size, smart vending machines can use as little electricity as a domestic refrigerator by employing high-efficiency compressors, fan motors, heat exchangers, and better insulation.
These more efficient units also have advanced lighting and refrigeration controls, allowing you to tune your machine to your specific needs.
For example, you can turn the lights inside the machine out on slow days and weekends.
There’s another big environmental issue with vending machines using cooling systems. The cooling industry accounts for about 10% of global CO2 emissions; or three times the amount of aviation and shipping combined.
Many vending machines still use commonplace refrigerants called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) – potent greenhouse gases with high Global Warming Potential (GWP).
However, efficient machines run on climate-friendly chemicals with low Global Warming Potential (GWP), also known as natural refrigerants.
So, if you’re planning to switch your old machines, you might consider energy-efficient ones to become more environmentally friendly and sustainable.
Also, machines like smart coolers use less energy than refrigerated vending machines.
Refrigeration accounts for up to 80% of a vending machine’s total energy draw. The remaining ~20% is lighting, screen, electronics, and mechanical dispensing (motors, coils, elevator systems).
So, if you’re planning to switch your old machines, you consider energy-efficient ones to become more environmentally friendly and sustainable.
5. Reduce Food Waste
Breakroom micro markets and smart fridges are on the rise these days. Offering a wide selection of products, fresh food, and dairy with a simple checkout process helps their popularity.
Controlling product quality is very important in micro markets, so perishable products can be offered with a discount and used before their expiry date, eliminating any waste.
On top of it, the stock is monitored in real-time, making it easier to predict consumption trends and eliminate overstocking. Operators can refill only the goods that are out of stock and reduce food waste.
Being sustainable and health-focused, adding smart fridges and micro-markets to your solution portfolio is the right move to appeal to the Gen Z audience.
6. Incentivize Users to Buy Sustainable Products
With mobile wallets, you can reward customers for buying specific ethically sourced products with surprise rewards and loyalty vouchers.
For example, if customers buy candy bars that have a Fair Trade label, you can give them reward points every time they make a transaction, which they can redeem for free vends.
Not only will you create more customer loyalty, but you’ll also encourage customers to spend more at your vending machines and opt for a sustainable option.
Real-time Telemetry is the Key to Sustainable Vending
The challenge for vending businesses isn’t just to spend less fuel or stock up with more eco-friendly products. It’s to gather meaningful data and optimize their operations towards a more sustainable way of working.
For that to happen, you need a way to collect data and make adjustments.
With real-time telemetry, you can collect performance data directly from your vending machines and improve operational efficiency.
Your vending management system will be able to:
- Generate fuel-efficient resupply routes
- Track which products are more ethically sourced and in line with ecological practices
- Track performance and make sure all vending machines are working properly
- Manage all kinds of machines in your fleet from the cloud (including cost-efficient smart coolers and micro markets)
- Incentivize users to buy certain products that are more sustainable
All said, automated retail businesses could benefit from incorporating sustainable practices such as reducing food waste, expanding their selection of sustainable goods, and lowering their carbon footprint.
Gen Z is more likely to prioritize sustainable and ethical business practices when making purchasing decisions than any other age group.
Therefore, it is going to be critical to keep up with those trends if one wants to remain relevant in the evolving market and satisfy consumer expectations.
Don’t hesitate to talk with us to learn more about how we can bring sustainability into your business.