Negosentro.com | Almost every business needs a warehouse. Some are small in sizes but enough to store office supplies, while others are hundreds of square feet big and intended for bulky goods and equipment. But warehouse in any size negatively affects the environment with their power consumption and waste.
Thankfully, this is the time when it’s easy to transfer to green principles and eco-friendly practices. Changes to create an eco-friendly business in your warehouse will get you positive points with customers and partners, but also be financially beneficial and healthier for your workers. So, here are tips on how to go down the environmentally responsible path.
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Switch to solar panels
Every day, your warehouse spends a lot of electricity creating large energy bills and costing you more money than it should. But moreover, the energy used to power up the warehouse comes from fossil fuels and increases the carbon footprint in the environment. However, if you switch to solar panels you will have a clean and renewable source of energy which will reduce greenhouse gases and lower the expenses.
Choose an area around the warehouse with most sunlight and install your solar panels there. This can be a roof of your warehouse or a nearby lawn. Switch to the battery-powered equipment to complete the clean energy circle and don’t be worried if your business is in the colder regions. Solar panels harvest sun rays and turn them into enough energy so you don’t have to rely on your old power source any longer.
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Use eco-friendly packaging
Start using biodegradable materials for packaging to eliminate plastic. If you depend on plastic packaging, then find economical packaging methods that will limit its use. Always consider how you can make the goods protected and secured for transport and at the same time help the environment.
When it comes to biodegradable materials, they offer an ideal alternative. As you know, plastic has a long shelf life and currently, it presents serious problems to oceans and wildlife. The best thing about biodegradables is that they can give back to the environment by being turned into compost. So, you would not only make your warehouse eco-friendly but also inspire people outside of it to adopt green behavior.
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Limit the use of paper
Paper is already barely used in business since today almost everything is done electronically. So, instead of keeping logs and schedules on paper, invest in tablets that will allow your workers to input data easily. They are small and practical to carry around the warehouse and all the data can go directly to cloud storage or main archive. Furthermore, this data will be available instantly to anyone with authorized access which makes it a valuable resource in case of accidents and fires.
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Keep toxic chemicals in a secure place
If you have toxic chemicals, even the cleaning agents, use reliable safety equipment for their storage. These chemicals contain dangerous substances which can cause respiratory problems, burns, and other injuries if spilled and not handled correctly. Therefore, they present a serious safety hazard to your employees and goods, so you need to make sure they are stored safely after use or before shipping.
There are also some additional ways to approach this issue. One of them is to provide adequate training to employees on the nature and handling of these toxic chemicals. Also, invest in protective gear like gloves, proper storing containers and gas masks if there are toxic vapors.
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Rethink the floor layout
Creating a practical layout will not only save you space but also conserve resources. The point is to achieve efficient transportation of goods and so consume less energy. This means that by rearranging shelves and racks you can create shorter and economical paths for machinery and increase productivity, as well.
Another crucial thing in creating an eco-friendly layout is the use of signage. By installing navigational signs in your warehouse, employees will maneuver through it more efficiently.
In the end
It all starts with a small change which can inspire the whole business to transfer to environmentally responsible practices. These changes to create an eco-friendly business in your warehouse are a good way to start participating in a global movement to preserve our planet. After all, this is the only home human race has and so we need to take good care of it.
Mike is an Australian business consulting specialist. He’s working with companies that outsource their IT maintenance. He often writes about technology, business and marketing and is a regular contributor on several sites.
