Transforming your warehouse into an eco-friendly masterpiece can really boost your business benchmarks. It’s not just a great way to help mother nature, but a fantastic way to get more productivity, improve your bottom line, and increase your profits. In this article, we’re going to tell you why going green will land you, well, in the green. We will cover sustainable warehouse ideas you can employ and explore how to get the most out of your investment.
What is a green warehouse?
A green warehouse is a warehouse that has been designed to conserve energy, water, and natural resources.
A sustainable warehouse is different from a traditional warehouse in the sense that it will have an increased level of insulation to reduce heat loss, use natural lighting sources like the sun or skylights to reduce the need for artificial lighting, use LED lights or motion sensors to control light levels and turn off unneeded lights when not needed. These are just a few components of a green warehouse.
Best and easiest green warehouse practices
Natural light & energy-efficient lighting
Changing light bulbs and taking advantage of natural lighting can do wonders for your sustainability efforts — it even saves on your energy bill, which is a plus.
Automatic handling equipment
Automatic handling equipment not only improves your productivity but since it emits fewer polluting gasses, it also helps your environmental efforts. There are countless automatic material handling solutions SRSI provides.
Compact (high-density) storage systems
Taking advantage of your space, every square foot, not only helps you maximize your storage potential but also helps you go green. How? Operational costs go down due to less travel time within your infrastructure — this translates to less energy expenditure.
The right location
Properly locating your warehouse, if you can in greenfield projects, is critical. Each region has its advantages and in many cases, your energy expenditure will be tied to that ecosystem’s characteristics. Too much sun equals great use of solar panels. A stifling heat means you’ll have to have the A/C on all day. These are just some of the factors to consider, and the experts at SRSI can help you navigate these decisions.
Optimized design and layout of a sustainable warehouse
Green warehouse designs will also dictate what automated tools you’ll need and also what services, like A/C and others, you’ll need to employ — this has a direct effect on your sustainability efforts.
Proper ventilation
Electricity is costly, and a huge part of your bill boils down to the use of A/C and heating units. Proper ventilation goes a long way in bringing these costs down.
Building materials with lower polluting properties
Eco-friendly materials, even those that mimic your surroundings, really do wonders to bring down your carbon footprint. Invest in high quality materials that can properly isolate your warehouse from the elements and, if they need to be replaced, are biodegradable.
The benefits of making your warehouse green.
Sustainability has become a big trend in the world of business. It is not only good for the environment, but it also helps to attract customers, rebrands your company, and ultimately contributes to your bottom line.
Warehouses are no exception to this eco-friendly trend. They can help their customers by using sustainable warehouse management practices that will reduce their environmental impact and provide them with a competitive edge.
Warehouses that go green can improve their reputation, access a new customer base, and even attract new clients. Today, over 89% of businesses say they want to improve their environmental impact, and in many cases, this transfers directly to outsourced services and suppliers. Why? For multiple reasons.
It’s not only a question of trying to help mother nature, and a great way to supercharge your PR and brand image, but an easy way to improve your profits. How?
Sustainability Subsidies
Many regions have huge sustainability subsidies which business owners can apply to. Sustainability subsidies are a form of government assistance that helps protect the environment and improve sustainability.
Sustainability is a word that has been used for years, but it has recently been gaining more traction as people become more aware of how important it is to keep the environment safe.
To do this, governments have been looking for ways to incentivize people into making environmentally friendly decisions. This is where sustainability subsidies come into play. The idea behind these subsidies is to provide incentives for consumers and businesses alike to make sustainable choices in their everyday lives — to invest in eco-friendly solutions. There are many different types of sustainability subsidies, with some being more common than others, but they all have the same goal: To help the environment and encourage sustainable practices.
One of the most commonly used is tax incentives.
Tax incentives
Tax incentives are a great way to incentivize businesses to go green. They are an effective way of reducing the cost of going green and encourage people to find more sustainable solutions for their business.
Tax incentives can be used by both the government and the private sector. There are many different types of tax incentives, but they all work on the same principle – they reduce the cost of going green.
Depending on your state, you can apply for these benefits. Something as simple as changing a couple of lightbulbs, buying some solar panels, or investing in automated equipment can end up giving you huge tax breaks and million-dollar subsidies.
Not going green means you’re leaving money on the table. Contact SRSI to get started on your warehouse or distribution center upgrades today.
