Dive Brief:
- Executives looking to green their warehouses but discouraged by the high costs of the most proven tactics can make five cost-efficient changes to achieve a more green distribution center, Industrial Distribution reports.
- Rethinking the usage paths of every day machines, providing a driver comfort station to reduce idling time, optimizing inbound/outbound truck schedules, exchanging lights, and replacing dock doors with speedier versions are all relatively cheap tactics for reducing the carbon footprint.
- In fact, anything that makes the load building processes more efficient is likely to reduce the carbon footprint, so it may be worth implementing no matter how small.
Dive Insight:
As global emissions standards begin to enter into effect, companies are more likely to push sustainability requirements throughout their supply chain. Like metrics without benchmarks, the goals may feel impossible at first but it is important to remember that every small change helps.
Unlike short term spikes in demand, sustainability is a long-term goal. Recycling one day may help improve metrics for a week or a month, but the changes that pay are the long-term process shifts that will permanently reduce emissions.
The five tips provided by Industrial Distribution are not only relevant to warehouses: anyone can change their light bulbs, arrange recycling programs, and reduce electricity consumption. Often, it's just a matter of information.
