In recent years, sustainability and eco-friendly product alternatives have seen a lot of booms. Green logistics and its importance have grown too over the years. As per a study, over 68% of shoppers make their purchases based on the brand’s commitment to sustainability and eco-friendly products. Getting a greater customer base is a compelling reason for most of the brands to go green along with their core organizational ideologies of saving the mother earth.

What is Green Logistics?

Green logistics involves a set of sustainable business practices and policies that aids in reducing company’s impact on the environment while not affecting the economic activities. This affects the configuration of the entire organizational processes, thereby changing the organizational structure and systems to optimize eco-friendly logistics while providing best services. It is mainly finding a balance between ecology and economy.

Green logistics operations and practices differ as per the industry and as per the products that are a part of the supply chain. A specialist logistics services provider aid in optimally following the supply chain maintaining a balance between ecology and economy. This collaborates your organizational ideologies with the logistics and distribution services provider ideologies, thereby creating a win-win opportunity for both.

Advantages of Green Logistics

Eco logistics implementation leads to several benefits, not only for the environment, but also for all the stakeholders involved. How does it benefit? Let’s delve into that.

• Sustainable logistics operations help in reducing pollution in different ways like bulk product supply in one go, multiple cargo consignments in a single cargo and more.
• Eco logistics serve to reduce costs per shipment to the companies as it creates lean operations, consignment distribution in cargos as per the location and more.
• Green logistics aid in building better image of the organization in the eyes of its consumers for the eco-friendly packaging, delivery other sustainable benefits that they find with the brand.
• One major advantage of green logistics is that it offers automation of warehouses. This automation is not only environmentally friendly, but also increases the efficiency of the warehouse, reduces costs along with losses and helps in keeping a tap on inventory management.

The Case for Going Green

In case you are wondering whether your organization should consider going green or not, these pointers will resolve all your doubts.

• Over 80% of shoppers these days prefer purchasing sustainable products over their non-sustainable alternatives. And more than 60% of the shoppers are willing to change their shopping habits to more sustainable and environmentally friendly products. So, by going green, you are earning more customers.
• Many think that going green might increase their expenses for technology inclusion and more. But the fact is going green and saving money go hand-in-hand. This is because, there is waste reduction, lean logistics and smooth process management to affect the environment to the least. And this in turn reduces the costs of these operations.
• While there is more efficiency in the entire logistics process, the operations improve and thereby delivering the best products to the customers.
• With all the above benefits to the company, these environmentally conscious operations will lead to less carbon footprint providing value to the society and the environment.

How to Apply Eco-Friendly Green Logistics?

Now that you know the importance and advantages of going green and want to apply green logistics strategies. These are the ways through which you can flawlessly apply all the strategies.

1. Streamline Warehousing

The energy consumption of a warehouse on an average is 6.1 kilowatt-hours and it increases considerably if the warehouse has cold storage facility. This consumption is super high, and to reduce this, you can invest in green sources of energy like wind or solar. This significantly reduces the costs and resources used to generate the energy.

2. Eco-Friendly Criteria in Procurement

Procuring eco-friendly products reduces the risk of creating the end products which are not eco-friendly. Assess your supplier in terms of their products, packaging and how will they deliver the products to you. You must prefer suppliers where manufacturing of the product procured by you is done in an eco-friendly way. Also, you can prioritize the suppliers that are less distant from your location for easy, quick access and low transport costs or wastage.

3. Optimize Transport Fleet Management

Major hassle in logistics operations while choosing environmentally friendly alternatives is that of transportation. You must first of all select the mode of vehicles that limits emission. It is also essential to have a system where you can plan the route and prioritize on load pooling. This not only reduces the carbon footprint in the environment but also it reduces the cost for business.

4. Measures to Reduce and Recycle the Waste Produced

Reduce and recycling of waste in the logistics process can majorly be done at the warehouse. You can develop a sustainable criterion for managing the waste generated at the warehouse by establishing waste sorting process where you sort recyclable waste aside, reduce paper wastage by bringing in different IT solutions to the warehouse, and more.

5. Update Reverse Logistics Practices

Reverse logistics refers to a process where the products initially are delivered to the customer and they need to be returned to the seller. Reverse logistics is an extra cost to a business. It is preferred to first deliver the right products in the right condition to the customer which reduces the risk of return of the products. Still, you must create an efficient system for reverse logistics for reducing the cost of the returns.

Conclusion

Green logistics aids in reducing costs, waste and carbon footprint in the environment. Along with being eco-friendly, it helps businesses grow greater customer connect and brand image in the market for offering clean environmental solutions to their customers. So every organization must look forward to going green in their industry along with the logistics and supply chain industry as that is the need for a better future.