Sustainability is constantly evolving, companies around the world have made the decisions to adopt and maintain sustainable practices within their supply chain. While it is critical to shift your business in a more environmentally friendly direction, there are other benefits, such as increasing profits.
Assess Your Current Supply Chain
To implement environmental changes in your supply chain, you must first figure out which portions of it have a significant carbon footprint. This will allow you to identify the risks in your supply chain, as well as which parts will need to implement more sustainable methods.
Image: Carbon Footprint Source: Global Efficiency Intelligence
Collaborate with Sustainable Suppliers
Your company may be considering or has already implemented new sustainable practices. It’s vital to assess whether your business partners value sustainability as well, because collaborating with a supplier who doesn’t can harm your company’s GHG emissions, human rights compliance, and overall image. Obtaining confirmation of your supplier’s ISO 14001 certification will enable your company to identify your partners’ environmental practices as well as check ESG reports and carbon footprints.
Minimize Inventory
Due to heating, cooling, and lighting warehouses account for roughly 13% of GHG emissions. Understanding inventory demands will help you make the most of your warehouse space. Predictive technology will help forecast current product demand, allowing excess warehouse space to be reduced when necessary. Using sustainable HVAC and lighting systems, in addition to predictive technology, will help to cut GHG emissions overall.
Image: Total GHG Emissions by Sector Source: EPA
Optimize Transportation
Transportation operations contribute significantly to GHG emissions, accounting for around 30% in 2020. Advanced technology can now help you reduce transportation-related carbon emissions by optimizing transportation routes to minimize drive time or by providing 3D truck loading software to help you maximize cargo space.
Use Sustainable Packing Materials
Packaging products can use a lot of unnecessary plastic because it is often the cheapest alternative, which can have a detrimental impact on the environment due to the poor recycling rate of packing plastics. Only 1% of plastics are biodegradable, according to the European Union, making it tough to find alternatives. Setting environmental goals, such as using recycled materials for packaging, might be helpful to your company.
Companies are beginning to think about how much carbon their supply chain emits and how important it is for them to play a role in moving toward a more sustainable supply chain. As a 3PL, NewStream is constantly learning about new sustainable practices and how we can support our OEMs in moving toward a more ecologically friendly direction to love their green supply chain.
Ready to tackle your supply chain? Reach out to our experts today!