Concern for global warming has led companies to adapt their different processes to reduce the negative impact they may have on the environment.
Green logistics emerges as a sustainable alternative to traditional logistics, to somehow alleviate the damage caused by the industry to nature.
What is green logistics?
It is the set of environmental measures and policies that companies adopt with the aim of minimizing the negative impact that their activities in this area can cause in nature.
Green logistics or environmental logistics seeks to minimize, as much as possible, the impact on the environment that logistics processes have on the planet.
That is, reduce pollution, make more efficient use of resources and increase the sustainability of the supply chain. This means modifying the processes of the logistics chain to reduce emissions and achieve the transformation of strategies and structures.
The objective of green logistics is to obtain a balance between economic and ecological efficiency.
Elements involved in green logistics:
These are some of the elements that intervene when you want to implement green logistics policies:
Transport: vehicles and traffic are one of the main causes of carbon dioxide emissions. To reduce pollution, it is necessary to optimize routes, reduce the number of trips or replace the most polluting vehicles with hybrid or electric fleets.
Distribution: to achieve a more efficient distribution of traffic and reduce emissions, alternative routes can be found or deliveries can be made at times of less traffic.
Packaging – Implementing the use of reusable packaging and materials can help reduce the environmental impact of packaging. For example, it is increasingly common for companies to opt for the use of cardboard pallets instead of traditional wooden ones.
Storage: a good infrastructure that allows goods to be stored, transported and loaded more easily will save time and pollute less. Electricity consumption can also be reduced by using solar panels, renewable energy or making better use of daylight hours.
Recycling: logistics processes generate a large amount of waste. For this reason, using recyclable, reusable or biodegradable materials will considerably reduce the environmental impact. And not only that, since in this way costs are also reduced and profitability is gained. It is what is known as reverse logistics.
What are the benefits of using green logistics?
These are some of the benefits of using green logistics:
Traffic reduction: transport and storage are the logistics processes with the greatest environmental impact. That is why if it is possible to improve and reduce the flow of traffic, greater efficiency in the transport of goods can be achieved. Some options may be to establish flexible hours for circulation or use new routes that optimize traffic.
Waste reduction: one of the main objectives of green logistics is the reduction of the amount of waste generated in the packaging processes. The promotion of recycling or the use of reusable materials will help companies to reduce expenses. And also to have less environmental impact.
Less noise pollution: No doubt noise pollution is another common logistics problem. The reduction of traffic and sustainable mobility will also help reduce this type of pollution.
Rationalize the use of resources: with a better use of available resources, companies can reduce their costs. Green logistics helps to optimize transport and storage operations. As well as to reduce the amount of waste and achieve greater energy efficiency.
Renewal of the transport chain: a greater investment by governments in the construction of alternative roads would help to optimize the flow of traffic. That could be a major boost for companies to make renovations to their transportation chain.
Improve the brand image: being a company with green logistics helps to position itself in the market as a company that cares about its environment and is aware of the environment.
Capturing new customers and suppliers committed to sustainability: today more and more people value companies concerned about sustainability positively. In this sense, green logistics will help to differentiate them from the competition and attract new customers.
The global environmental problem that we currently face requires replacing the current processes and assuming new responsible and respectful measures with nature in each and every one of the activities that we carry out.
What are you waiting for to make the change in your company?
"Always a Yes to all your logistics operations... well, almost to all"
