Learn how 3PL partners help brands track transport, packaging, and warehouse emissions to build greener, more sustainable supply chains.
Almost 80% of consumers prefer to buy from brands that show they care about the environment through their shipping and delivery practices. To meet this growing consumer demand for sustainability, brands are increasingly implementing eco-friendly supply chain goals. But, the ability to achieve a lot of these targets often comes down to the companies that brands outsource their logistics to. The good news is that 65% of third-party logistics (3PL) providers are already on the right track, and have taken steps to lower their carbon footprints. Thanks to transparent reports from such providers on the environmental impact of transport, packaging, and warehousing, brands can track their progress towards greener logistics, and share their success with customers.
Track transport emissions
Transportation is responsible for nearly one-third of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., which makes it the most carbon-intensive link in the supply chain. To help tackle this issue, your 3PL partner should provide detailed reports on fuel use and carbon emissions for each route. The most useful reports will ideally show progress made over time, so you can see if the provider’s efforts to reduce emissions are actually working. For instance, are average delivery miles shorter now than they were a few months back? Are fewer trips needed to complete orders? If so, that shows there’s a successful reduction in transport emissions. These reports can also help you identify trouble spots, as in specific routes or regions where emissions are still too high. If you discover this sort of issue, check your partner has plans in place to lower them.
Make smarter packaging choices
44% of consumers consider the environmental impact of packaging either “extremely” or “very” important, according to McKinsey. Yet, just 14% of the 86 million tonnes of plastic packaging produced every year gets recycled, which contributes massively to pollution and waste. For brands, a simple step to help the environment and build customer trust is to reduce the weight of packaging you use. On top of simply being a waste of materials, oversized boxes take up more space in delivery vehicles. This means more trips potentially need to be made, and that fuel consumption and carbon emissions consequently go up. So, check that your third-party-logistics (3PL) partner uses the right size boxes for each product, and doesn’t just grab whatever’s available.
Also, ask about the packaging materials used, including what percentage of them are recyclable or compostable. It’s useful to know that although recycled plastic may sound nice and sustainable, it’s generally not always the best option. Recycled paper and cardboard typically have a lower carbon footprint than recycled plastic, mainly because they don’t rely on fossil fuels and use less energy to recycle.
Reduce warehouse energy use
Warehouses usually consume a lot of electricity, with an average of 10.03 kWh per square foot per year, and this has a big impact on your brand’s environmental footprint. For this reason, a transparent 3PL partner should be upfront about their warehouse emissions, and provide reports on energy consumption (broken down by facility), and the amount of emissions produced. It’s equally important to find out how much of this energy comes from renewable sources, as this shows whether emissions are actually being reduced or just offset somewhere else. For example, do they use rooftop solar power panels to generate electricity? If so, ask them to share stats on how much energy these panels generate and the impact that has on emissions.
Customers now expect brands to prioritize sustainability at every stage. Thanks to transparent reports from eco-conscious 3PL partners, brands can clearly track emissions reductions across the entire supply chain, and share results with customers.
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