Episode 9: Steve Bonnici shares how Urgent Couriers is delivering on sustainability

Pictured above: Lilah McDonald and Steve Bonnici.

In this bonus season-ending episode, Lilah McDonald interviews Steve Bonnici, the visionary behind Urgent Couriers, New Zealand’s first carbon-neutral courier company. They dive into Steve’s journey from being a courier in the 1980s to building an innovative business committed to environmental responsibility. 

In this special episode, Steve Bonnici shares with Lilah a bit on his backstory, growing up on the West Coast and starting Urgent Couriers at 25. His early work as a courier inspired him to create a company focused on exceptional service. Steve speaks to the challenges of transitioning from being part of a team to leading one, and how he initially trained his drivers to sell services door-to-door, and how an MBA project in the late 1990s catalysed Urgent Couriers’ commitment to sustainability.

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Episode highlights

• The steps to becoming carbon-neutral, including measuring emissions, creating reduction plans, and working with Toitū Envirocare.
• Initiatives such as replacing cars with e-bikes for central city deliveries and driver training for fuel efficiency.
• The limitations of current electric vehicle technology for courier needs, and the efforts to swap to lower-emission vehicles as viable options emerge.
• Why Urgent Couriers’ sustainability efforts attract eco-conscious customers.
• Steve’s advice to businesses wanting to reduce their carbon footprint: “It’s not as hard as you think and often makes good business sense.”

Get in touch:

Website – nzbusiness.co.nz/podcasts
Instagram – @sustainablyeverafterpodcast

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Find out more about Urgent Couriers

Website – urgent.co.nz
Facebook – @urgentcouriers
Instagram – @urgentcouriers
LinkedIn – Urgent Couriers Limited

A special thanks to sponsors of this podcast, OfficeMax, whose vision it is to empower sustainable and successful workplaces. Learn more about how they can help your business at www.officemax.co.nz.