For more than 50 years, people around the world have been coming together on April 22 to celebrate Earth Day and raise awareness about the health of the planet and its environment. This year, with many consumers caring more about sustainability than ever before, corporations are taking a closer look at meaningful steps they can take on Earth Day to build stronger sustainability into their products, processes, and operations. According to one statistic, 99 percent of Fortune 500 companies have made sustainability a core focus and priority for their business. Top supply chain leaders that include Amazon, Costco, and Kroger have pledged to invest in renewable energy and decrease their carbon emissions in the coming years.
When looking for ways to fight climate change and reduce their carbon footprint through everyday business and supply chain processes, it is important that manufacturers, retailers, and logistics enterprises ask themselves some key questions:
- Do we have policies, committees, or positions focused on identifying opportunities for sustainability?
- Can we redesign our product and/or packaging to make it lighter or more recyclable?
- Are we investing in fuel- and energy-efficient technologies?
- Do we hold our vendors, suppliers, manufacturers, and other partners to high sustainability standards?
- And — are we encouraging our employees to think about sustainability?
Key Areas of Focus
By starting with these questions, companies can identify key areas in which they can make changes to reduce their carbon footprint and improve their overall sustainability:
- Incorporating sustainable packaging, which includes materials that are better for the environment than traditional packaging.
- Implementing green business practices such as lowering the use of paper, switching to LED light bulbs, and employing a thorough recycling program.
- Focusing on environmental logistics solutions such as reducing fleet emissions, sustainable warehouse development, and eco-friendly shipping materials.
On this Earth Day, corporations can also make the switch from wood to the plastic pallets offered by iGPS. iGPS’s all-plastic pallet pooling system has transformed the industry. iGPS plastic pallets are 100% recyclable and complete an average of 100 trips across the supply chain per lifespan – compared to a typical multi-use wooden pallet, which can often wind up in a landfill after only about 25 trips. Additionally, iGPS pallets are up to 20 pounds lighter and therefore require less fuel for transport. For every 100,000 iGPS pallets shipped, nearly 1,000 gallons of fuel are saved, and more than 20,000 pounds of greenhouse emissions are kept out of the atmosphere.
iGPS is taking further steps to help the environment by partnering with the National Forest Foundation to sponsor the planting of 100,000 trees in protected United States forests over the next three years.
Earth Day is celebrated to remind us of how important it is to protect our planet each and every day. Taking meaningful steps this year to lower your carbon footprint and become a more sustainable business will set organizations up for success as the emphasis on environmental responsibility continues to grow.
Companies committed to protecting the environment use iGPS plastic pallets for all their shipping needs. Our lightweight, recyclable plastic pallets incorporate RFID technology making them traceable throughout a supply chain. For more information, contact us at 1-866-557-0047, email a specialist at switch@igps.net, or visit our contact page.
