Sustainability and environmental awareness are topics that are on the lips of almost everyone in 2023. The level of concern about the climate has risen considerably during the past decade and it is now something that every business sector must be seen to take seriously.
That marks a major change for the warehousing sector. Due to its importance to the UK supply chain, the primary focus has always been reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Of course, it is still vital that the sector gets goods to customers from suppliers as quickly as possible, but that must now be combined with sustainability.
What is sustainable warehousing?
It is a way of carrying out the everyday operations of a warehouse that reduces the environmental impact to the absolute minimum. There are a number of things that warehouse managers can do to make these operations greener without sacrificing efficiency or sending costs spiralling upwards. Read on for tips on how to create a green warehouse.
Upgrade your equipment
It might seem like sticking with the warehouse equipment that you currently have would be the most effective option, but not if it is past peak performance. Companies providing warehouse equipment such as forklifts, picking trolleys and packing stations are now increasingly building energy efficiency in at the design stage. Therefore, upgrading to new equipment may enable you to cut back on the everyday energy usage within the warehouse.
This investment will also save your business money on repairs to outdated equipment while improving the speed and efficiency of your operations.
Look at the lighting
The lighting within a warehouse is not an area that many managers even think about. As long as it works, that is all people concern themselves with, but lighting can really impact the environment. A lot of warehouses are still deploying CFL, fluorescent or incandescent light bulbs, but LED lighting is a far more energy efficient choice. Compared with incandescent bulbs, LED ones utilise a remarkable 85% less energy on average. In comparison with fluorescent ones, it is 50% less.
They do this by generating more light and less heat. Aside from the energy bill savings switching to LED will provide, it will also improve efficiency by ensuring employees can see what they are doing more clearly.
The importance of lighting in creating a greener warehouse is not just about the artificial light though. You should also look to make the maximum possible use of natural light. That means ensuring windows are kept clean at all times, with cleaning scheduled for regular periods when it will not disrupt work within the warehouse. It may also mean the possible redesigning of the building to create more space for windows. That redesign could incorporate the addition of solar panels to the roof too that will convert natural light into renewable energy.
Manage waste efficiently
Every warehouse will produce some waste, so completely eliminating it is not viable. You can become greener through efficient management of it though, based on three principles:
• Reduction
• Re-using
• Recycling
The first is largely about cutting back on the amount of material used in packing items for dispatch. Making sure you acquire packing stations holding all the materials needing during your equipment upgrade will help you with that. Re-using applies to packing materials but also to things like storage racks, which can sometimes be bought second hand.
Effective recycling will mean making greater use of recyclable materials during packaging. This can be the case for glass, cardboard, paper and wood. It can also mean buying picking trolleys, packing tables and shelves made of recyclable materials like steel. Lastly, purchasing a baler will enable you to compact any waste to be recycled in-house.
Get the warehouse insulated
Just as switching to LED bulbs and maximising natural light sources can reduce the energy used in lighting the warehouse, so insulation can cut back on heating energy. Signs that it is not properly insulated include draughts, unusually high heating costs and persistent problems with mice or rats. If these are issues that your warehouse has, contacting a company that provides industrial insulation will help you to improve the energy efficiency will also cutting back on running costs.
Use an energy management system
An energy management system (EMS) will give you the framework you need to work out potential reduction measures. These systems are designed to measure the existing energy consumption and identify areas where it can be cut back. Putting a system of this sort in place will enable you to find out where changes can be made more quickly, helping you to achieve your green warehouse targets by the earliest possible date.
At Steely Products we manufacture equipment such as packing table and picking trolleys made of recyclable materials like steel and wood. You can get in touch with us about them using the form below.
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