Warehouses are constantly on the lookout for more efficient ways of working, but the recent trend of “going green” is something that can affect the world as a whole. The environment is an increasing concern for businesses known for making large carbon footprints. Warehouses are constantly packaging products and making deliveries, which, among other things, have not been known for being particularly friendly to the environment.
Going green can do more than just help the environment – it can save a company money as well. Although there are plenty of interesting ways to reduce a carbon footprint, they all fall into one of the following three categories:
Recycling
Placing an item in a recycle bin is no more difficult than throwing something in the trash, but recycling still isn’t as prevalent as it needs to be. There are still warehouses and businesses that do not offer recycling as an option, and there are others where employees simply do not use the recycle bin. It is important for employees to be on the same page as management when it comes to recycling, otherwise going green will always fail.
So many of the materials used in warehouses can be recycled. Even if recycling doesn’t help your business save money, it is still the responsible thing to do.
Reducing
Reducing the consumption of either resources or energy can not only help the environment, but it can also help a business save money. Finding ways to reduce the amount of materials used – without decreasing efficiency – can have a ripple effect on a company. Less material means lighter loads for deliveries, which means less energy needs to be used on deliveries.
Just like with recycling, it is important for employees to be in the know when it comes to reducing. Saving on energy is very important, and there are plenty of things employees can do to help with that. One of the big ones is turning off lights when a room/section is not in use. Leaving things turned on or plugged in when they are not in use is wasteful and should be avoided at all costs. Some businesses might find it easier to invest in motion sensors to determine when an area is being used in order to help go green.
Reusing
There are countless occasions of people throwing something away simply because it has been used. Used items work just as well as new items, provided they are not damaged in any way. Even if an item can no longer be used for its intended purpose, it could probably be repurposed to help in another way. It is even a good idea to save the packaging your warehouse receives on new shipments. If the packaging can’t be used for deliveries, there is surely something it can be used for in the warehouse.
One thing to be cautious about with reusing is safety. Nothing is going to last forever. Although reusing items might save in the short term, it is important to still buy new items if they are needed. Packaging that looks damaged or beat up should never be used for deliveries; poor quality can damage a company’s reputation.
Businesses are being held to higher standards as of late, and going green is soon going to be the only option. Recycling, reducing, and reusing will be important for every warehouse manager. Employing stricter policies for preventing waste will be a pain at first, but things will go much more smoothly once employees become acquainted. It is also important to remember that reducing and reusing can help businesses save money. Going green is going to benefit warehouses just as much as it will benefit the environment.
