5 Reasons Sustainable Logistics are Important

As the world turns more attention to the problems of climate change, customers are realising the need for environmental, economic and social change. Therefore, it is important for a company’s success and a moral obligation to investigate reducing the environmental impacts of a business. Sustainable logistics refers to practices that lessen the industry’s impact on the environment in a way that works for all involved. Here are some of the main reasons that sustainable logistics are important for you to consider.

1. Reducing Emissions

The logistics process involves the transport of goods across short and long distances. As pollution and carbon emissions from vehicles are leading sources of climate change, CO₂ emissions are naturally an area that logistics companies are trying to reduce. By switching to low or no emission vehicles for last mile delivery, a company can substantially reduce its carbon footprint. Logistics management can also help companies to find transport solutions that will help to reduce the number of miles travelled overall by a company, which of course, reduces emissions.

2. Compliance with Government Guidelines

Governments are aware of the importance of sustainable societies and are looking to reduce emissions through sustainability practices. The main way to do this is to get businesses and individuals to change their behaviour through regulations and laws. By moving forward with sustainable logistics, you will be able to remain government compliant and continue trading.

3. Reduction in Waste Product

A large drive towards sustainable practices is knowledge of the large amount of waste that the world produces on a daily basis. Better supply chain management can help to reduce your levels of waste. Of course, there is recycling, but materials have a finite recycling lifetime, and simply not generating the waste in the first place is the best solution. You will be able to reduce your waste collection costs, and customers appreciate it when a business does not ship a load of (essentially) rubbish with the product they ordered.

4. Increases Customer Awareness

Customers are aware of the dangers of climate change and the need to alter their habits. There is a growing trend to only use or interact with companies that align with their ideals and who are working towards a more sustainable way of doing business. By highlighting the work that you are doing to improve your climate impact, you will gain both respect and acknowledgement from your customer base and provide others with more incentive to increase their own sustainability efforts.

5. Profit

As mentioned above, investing in sustainable logistics will appeal to your customers and may even attract new ones if you are ahead of your competitors in this area. If you are concerned that green logistics will badly affect your bottom line, then consider smaller changes over the long term. As long as customers can see the way you are aiming and that you are making efforts to get there, you will still gain a sustainable reputation.

However, you may find that certain sustainable practices are either not as expensive as you think or save you money. Reducing waste and altering transport routes could mean less money spent in the first place; you might be able to sell power back to the grid and avoid energy costs if you install solar panels. These are just a few examples; once you start investigating, you are sure to see benefits for your own company.