7 Ways to Implement “Green” Initiatives in Your Warehouse

Green topics such as climate change and the harmful effect of carbon emissions are set to dominate our future. Industry in particular has a vitally important role to play in helping reduce the impact of an all-too-large carbon footprint. According to the Government’s research, industry as a whole releases 72% of the United Kingdom’s carbon emissions. However, there are already practices that the industry can implement to ensure our future is greener and healthier. For instance, warehousing is currently discovering numerous ways that can significantly contribute to lowering its emissions. Here are 7 ways to implement green initiatives in your warehouse and the reasons why it is so important. 

Sustainability influences almost every initiative as it ensures warehousing can keep its green practices alive and well as the twenty-first century progresses. Every initiative, from recycling to energy efficiency, should be relatively easy to include in the daily routine of any warehouse.

1. Packaging and Recycling

Warehousing regularly uses large quantities of packaging to protect goods while in storage and make them ready for transportation. How those materials are sourced and reused is an essential part of green sustainability.

According to GOV.UK, approximately 63.2% of packaging was recycled during 2021. While that is a commendable figure, every responsible warehouse aims to strive for a 100% recycling score. Consider sealing cardboard boxes with gummed paper tape. Both box and tape are then completely recyclable. When you use plastic sealing tape, it has to be removed during recycling and is usually sent to a landfill.

Avoid marking packages with metallic ink. Although it looks impressive, recycling companies find it difficult to separate it from the packaging. Where possible opt for Kraft mailing envelopes instead of plastic. They are made of reinforced paper that’s completely recyclable.

2. Energy Efficiency

As any manager knows, warehousing can be very expensive. Maintaining the expansive interior can quickly eat into the most generous energy allowance. Generally, a warehouse uses a large proportion of its energy quota for running air conditioning. It’s an essential facility that makes the workspace comfortable for employees and should help improve employee engagement. Controlling internal temperature ensures goods are stored in the best condition.

Installing Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) units is an economical strategy for warehousing. It’s a versatile system that is highly energy efficient. It uses a minimal amount of electricity to warm external air and can reverse the action to keep the interior cool.

3. Ecological Lighting

Warehousing is in constant need of good lighting for quickly locating goods and for safety. Traditional incandescent or fluorescent lighting is highly wasteful of electricity. A much more eco-friendly option is LED lighting. A single LED bulb uses one-sixth of the electricity of an incandescent version. Surprisingly, traditional light bulbs use only 10% of their energy usage to produce light, with the remaining 90% being wasted as unnecessary heat.

By contrast, LED lighting may use approximately 50% of its energy to produce light. Reduced heat can be much safer for areas where large amounts of goods are stored. It makes choosing bright LED lighting an ecological choice for warehousing.

4. Solar Energy

Warehousing often uses such vast amounts of electricity that many large-scale units are now installing environmentally friendly solar panels. An article referring to a study carried out by Deltas Energy and Environment stated that warehousing costs could be reduced by as much as 80% with solar energy.

There are also much wider benefits to be gained by installing solar energy systems on the UK’s extensive warehouse rooftops. Warehousing accounts for up to one-third of all commercial roofing. It has the potential to help reduce the UK’s annual carbon emissions by around two million tonnes.

5. Invest in Insulation

Once your warehouse is equipped with HVAC units and solar energy, it’s important to conserve as many of their benefits as possible. The majority of modern warehouses are constructed from single-skin metal sheeting. Insulation is often overlooked, but it plays an important role in making the facility greener and highly energy efficient.

Specialised spray foam is usually used to insulate metal. It’s a green strategy that counteracts the metal’s proficiency in thermal conductivity. Insulation helps trap the warm or cool air inside the unit to prevent it from escaping directly into the external atmosphere. In addition, it significantly reduces the amount of condensation that consistently forms on the metal. This contributes greatly to the longevity of the structure itself and helps protect employees from slippery patches of moisture on platforms and staircases.

6. Gravity Roller Systems

Additional energy is often required for extensive roller systems that are installed to help with moving packages quickly and easily within the warehouse. The most environmentally-friendly version is the highly versatile gravity roller system. The aluminium rollers can be reconfigured at any time to accommodate different requirements, helping to make the most of limited warehouse space. The system operates through gravity alone, making it ideal for reducing your warehousing energy costs.

7. Green Paperwork

The administrative department of any warehouse has traditionally relied on paper invoices, bills and correspondence. Each office worker can use up ten thousand sheets of paper in a year which amounts to almost five mature trees. There are many green initiatives to help preserve trees to continue acting as nature intended by absorbing harmful carbon dioxide. By converting your warehouse office to green, electronic correspondence, invoicing and billing, you can drastically reduce the facility’s carbon footprint.

Conclusion

The increasing popularity of online shopping has prompted the warehouse industry to grow by 3.8% in the UK alone. For newcomers to the industry, it’s important to make your warehouse as green as possible. Investing in solar energy, specialised insulation, and ecological lighting, should give your warehouse the best potential to always maintain energy efficiency.

Equipment such as gravity roller systems uses virtually zero energy to operate. Reusing and recycling packaging helps reduce the amount of materials sent to landfill. In your warehouse office, you can incorporate the latest technology to provide email invoices and correspondence. Implementing these green measures should ensure your warehouse is operating at maximum energy efficiency. You’ll not only be reducing carbon emissions, but you’ll also be lowering costs.

Place your nominations for this years Sustain Chain Awards to shine a spotlight on the great work being done in your business or by others to create a greener future.