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In this day and age, industries have a sort of social responsibility towards the environment. As we grow more aware of how we impact the world around us, we try our best to lessen the negative effects. This attitude is present among all sorts of industries, including warehousing. It may seem like you can’t really do anything to be more eco-friendly in your line of work, but you are an important part of society. This means you can make a change.
1. Recycle
You’re already working with a ton of paper and cardboard, so why not try to save some trees? If you don’t already recycle, you should really consider starting. Warehouses are the perfect example of the people who should be recycling regularly. After all, because you work with packaging, you’re often in close contact with all the materials that rot away in wastelands when they can be used for other things.
It’s important to come up with an organizational system, though. You should have designated recycling bins all over the place. This will make it convenient for employees to dispose of the things they don’t need in adequate bins, thus ensuring laziness won’t prevent them from being as eco-friendly as they can be.
2. LED lights
A well-lit environment is essential for you to get your work done. This is especially true when you’ve got a big warehouse with a lot of stored goods in it. Of course, having so many light bulbs wastes energy and drives up your electricity bill. Yet, you can’t really limit your use of lighting or turn off the lights when you don’t need them because you always do.
That’s why switching to LED lights will be the best idea you have. LED lights might be more expensive to buy, but they last twice as long as regular lights and don’t waste nearly as much energy. Plus the glow is softer and more pleasant for the eyes, meaning your employees won’t experience any more headaches or trouble with focusing as they may after long exposures to conventional bulbs.
3. Eco friendly behaviour
You won’t get far if your team isn’t on board. Just making these switches without talking to them or explaining the situation means they won’t understand or like the change. You want to avoid being the management who neglects to take the common worker into account. This is why a meeting is mandatory before any switches are made.
Inform your staff of your intentions and explain to them why you’re doing what you’re doing. It doesn’t stop there, though. The hardest switch you’ll make is the change in attitude. This is why you need to encourage eco friendly behaviour when you see it. A kind word here and there and a pat on the shoulder will do wonders. You may also want to consider giving some employee benefits like coupons or days off to those who have proven to be especially eco friendly.
4. The equipment
Changing your equipment to more eco-friendly versions is one of the main things you should do. As technology advances, it’s easier than ever to find equipment that doesn’t waste so much energy or needs the bad kind of fuel. As a warehouse, the most used piece of equipment is usually the forklift. Conventional forklifts, though, tend to be fairly bad for the environment.
This is why you should make the switch to eco friendly forklifts. Firms that deal with these know that they are very sustainable and more powerful than traditional forklifts. They let your workers do more work and finish more tasks without using nearly as much energy as they would otherwise.
5. Packaging
Traditional packaging is essentially all waste. You get your products in a ton of plastic that you just throw away and leave to rot for ages. You should consider switching to more eco-friendly and biodegradable materials when it comes to your packaging. Biodegradable material only takes a few years to decompose, but is also compostable, meaning that you can even reuse it for your garden. As well as that, it might be better to pack things more efficiently thus using less harmful materials.
This way, you’ll cut down the weight of the packages, but also the cost. Reducing your carbon footprint starts with changing the way you run the packaging operation, as it is essentially the part where you create the most waste.
Conclusion
All of these practices will be beneficial for your warehouse. They won’t be hard to implement and your team will easily get used to them. This means that your productivity also won’t be affected. In conclusion, making these easy business changes to be more eco-friendly is possible, safe, and even affordable. You’ll easily be able to do your part.
