As we move forward, the idea of sustainable work practices is becoming more and more prevalent in business. Identifying key areas within a business model that may be harmful to the environment is essential in making the relevant changes to your business and reducing your carbon footprint. Warehouses and their relevant deliveries are notorious for contributing more to pollution than many other business areas, so searching for ways to improve your warehouse processes to make them more eco-friendly is a great step forward in becoming a greener company.
Insulate Your Building
It’s your duty as an employer to ensure that your employees are comfortable, and so this means that, by law, employers must make sure that the workplace temperature is reasonable, no matter what. While the specific requirements for temperature aren’t overly clear, the minimum temperature is said to be 16°C. But for those employees that are doing physical activities, which should be most of your warehouse staff, that minimum temperature is actually 13°C.
Even this lower temperature will require some level of heating of your property. This excessive heating to warm up a large warehouse is very taxing on your power usage, which is bad for the environment. Reduce those costs and the amount of energy required by making sure your warehouse is insulated properly to lessen the amount of heat lost from your warehouse.
Buy Second Hand
Another way in which you can reduce the impact of waste on the environment is to buy second-hand items. While it’s great to receive brand new tools and furniture, its impact on the environment is quite significant. The more products that are made and purchased, the more that are going to be wasted when they’re thrown out. Some of these discarded items are perfectly usable and may benefit someone else. Second-hand items are a great option when looking to purchase things for your warehouse while also trying to be eco-friendly.
Companies like Refurbished Forklifts, for example, sell used forklifts of varying models and with varying hours on the clock. The forklifts are fully refurbished and ready to use, making them just as good as a brand new one for a much more affordable price as well as being an eco-friendly choice. You can click here to see their range, including many electric models, further reducing your environmental impact.
Set Recycling Goals
When operating a warehouse, this is naturally going to involve a huge amount of packaging and wasted materials. Boxes, packing tape, plastic wrapping, and polystyrene packing peanuts are all common waste items in a warehouse and businesses in general, but finding ways in which you can reduce the amount that you waste is ideal. While most businesses will have recycling methods in place and generally follow those methods, employees can easily forget or become lazy with recycling. There are ways in which you can cut packaging waste in your warehouse in general, but setting some recycling goals for your team is a great way to ensure that you’re recycling as much as possible, becoming more eco-friendly.
