By: Ned Hill
Every September, Climate Week NYC brings big goals and bold ideas. But there’s one everyday system we rarely talk about, even though it affects millions of people daily: the last mile of package delivery, the final journey from local hub to truck to doorstep.
Why Package Deliveries Belong in the Climate Conversation
With over 22 billion packages delivered in the United States in 2024, e-commerce has turned apartment communities into de-facto distribution hubs. Couriers circle the block, double-park, and make repeat trips to the same buildings. That means more carbon emissions, more congestion, and more friction for residents and city streets.
Inside the building, a different problem shows up: packages arrive in bulk, creating bottlenecks, cluttered lobbies, and storage overflow. Lockers fill up quickly, oversized or perishable items don’t fit, and residents face a frustrating, time-consuming pickup process. Property staff are left scrambling to manage the chaos, and every failed or repeated delivery adds more emissions to the atmosphere.
What Residents Are Telling Us
According to a Position Imaging Harris Poll survey, 60 percent of Americans worry about package theft. That concern rises alongside the surge in online shopping, which also brings more courier trips, more idling at the curb, and more failed deliveries. All are avoidable with smarter building-level logistics.
The Smart Package Room System: a Simpler Package Management System That Scales
The Smart Package Room® system is a future-proof package management system that centralizes the delivery process into one secure, efficient flow. Couriers make a single drop-off where they quickly and securely bulk deliver all packages into the room. Residents retrieve packages on their schedule 24/7, directed straight to their item in seconds using laser guidance. Property teams free up time and space once consumed by package chaos.
The benefit? A better resident experience, reduced operating headaches, and a measurable climate impact from fewer trips, fewer emissions, and fewer wasted miles.
What Changes with the Smart Package Room Solution?
The Smart Package Room solution doesn’t just transform package management. Here’s how the solution redefines sustainability and efficiency for modern apartment communities.
- Faster courier turnarounds, less idling. Even though multiple drivers may still visit a property each day, Smart Package Room systems speed up each delivery. Couriers can complete their drop-offs faster than when fumbling around with lockers or engaging with front desk staff. This means vehicles spend less time double-parked or idling at the curb, easing congestion and lowering emissions tied to dwell time.
- Less curbside congestion. Couriers spend less time circling the block, double-parking, clogging up driving lanes, and idling at the curb. That means fewer delivery-related emissions polluting the air and less traffic disruption in already congested neighborhoods.
- More capacity in the same footprint. Open shelving holds up to 3 times more packages than lockers, which eliminates overflow deliveries and reduces the need for extra trips. Fewer failed deliveries mean fewer unnecessary emissions.
- Fast, guided pickup. Computer vision and laser guidance direct residents straight to their package in seconds, reducing time spent in common areas and creating a smoother, more efficient resident experience.
- Full accountability, zero waste. Every package is logged with a digital breadcrumb trail, improving security and minimizing repeated deliveries, another hidden emissions source.
By the Numbers: How the Smart Package Room System Reduces Carbon and Congestion
The environmental benefits of smarter package logistics aren’t abstract. They’re measurable in:
- Courier dwell time. Traditional deliveries average 5–7 minutes per stop. With the Smart Package Room system, consolidated drops can cut this by 50–60 percent (down to 2–3 minutes).
- Courier trips per building. Without centralization, couriers often make 3–5 separate trips per building daily. The Smart Package Room system results in fewer trips, reducing repeat entries by 70–80 percent.
- Peak throughput. During the holiday season, package volumes at multifamily properties can climb to nearly double the daily average. Lockers often hit capacity quickly, creating overflow and operational headaches. The Smart Package Room system avoids this bottleneck: open shelving accommodates up to 3 times more packages in the same footprint, ensuring smoother operations even during peak surges.
- Resident pickup. Lockers average 2–3 minutes per pickup. The Smart Package Room solution reduces this to under 20 seconds, with 80+ percent of residents completing pickup in less than a minute.
(based on the Smart Package Room systems operational data and client site benchmarks)
Why This Matters During Climate Week NYC
Climate Week NYC is about discovering new sustainable systems and package logistics solutions are one of them. Smarter building-level delivery reduces emissions at the curb, cuts traffic friction on busy blocks, and lowers theft risk while giving residents a faster, simpler pickup experience.
For dense cities like New York, Chicago, Miami, Seattle, and Dallas, this is practical, near-term progress that doesn’t require changing resident behavior or rewriting the grid. It’s infrastructure at the building edge.
How NYC Property Owners and Managers Can Move Now
Turning climate goals into action starts with practical steps at the building level, where small changes in package management add up to big impacts. Here’s what NYC property owners and managers can do to make an impact:
- Plan for package management in building design and assign a budget to it. Treat delivery rooms as essential infrastructure, not an afterthought.
- Prioritize curb efficiency. Consolidated drops reduce double-parking and failed attempts.
- Measure what matters. Track courier dwell time, trip counts, overflow, and pickup times to quantify impact and guide policy.
- Partner to scale. Cities, developers, property managers, and technology providers can align standards that improve livability block by block.
Bottom Line
Sustainability isn’t achieved through big pledges alone. It also depends on practical innovations that improve how cities function day to day. The Smart Package Room system is one example. By streamlining last-mile delivery inside buildings, they can cut carbon at the curb, reduce theft and clutter, and create smoother, safer communities for everyone.
Ready to make package delivery part of your Climate Week NYC action plan? Contact us today to learn how Position Imaging’s Smart Package Room system can cut emissions, reduce congestion, and deliver a smarter, more sustainable resident experience.