Green logistics has quickly become an established trend in the logistics industry. Eco-friendly is no longer just a buzzword and something that can be shrugged off as an unrealistic expectation. Being eco-friendly and green has become attainable, essential, and even lucrative as a business strategy. Sustainability has even become a priority for many businesses, both large and small.
Implement A Sustainability Strategy in Your Supply Chain
The industry has and continues to become increasingly attuned to customer demands. More shippers and customers are choosing more socially responsible logistics partners aligned with their values. Studies show that customers are increasingly more willing to cancel their purchases if a company doesn’t support increased sustainability. Executives across all industries are feeling the pressure to update business strategies and shift to a more environmentally friendly approach.
Business Benefits of Green Logistics
Beyond the clear advantages like a brand image upgrade and increasing brand or product popularity, adopting a strategy of sustainability can bring even greater benefits.
Risk Mitigation
Sustainability in the supply chain is more than just environmentalism. Although an important factor, supply chain resilience is a contributing factor. Optimizing to attain more environmentally sustainable practices will not only ensure it survives challenges but thrives for decades to come.
Visibility into operations with sustainability in mind can uncover potential risks and increase supply chain efficiency. Companies should assess risks across the supply chain in order to identify potentially harmful practices that affect employees, customers, and the environment. This is a crucial first step in risk prevention.
You may want to consider integrating a transportation management system (TMS). A TMS can increase transportation visibility, better manage delivery expectations, and also supervise emissions levels. Through detection of the most environmentally harmful sections of your supply chain, you’ll be able to reduce your carbon footprint and benefit more effectively from green logistics.
Customer Retention & Industry Collaboration
Sustainable supply chains attract customers and expand the opportunities for collaborations and partnerships. Today, businesses are increasingly strategic about alliances. Therefore, there’s a tendency to work with other companies that adhere to international sustainability standards such as ISO 14001. ISO 14001 is the International Standard for Environmental Management Systems.
Modern consumers are less hesitant to refuse products if they violate environmentally friendly values. Implementing a sustainability strategy is an excellent way to expand your target audience. Sustainability can be addressed at multiple levels of the supply chain, from cooperating with ecologically conscious vendors to using recyclable or biodegradable packaging.
Profitability
Sometimes companies can be hesitant to adopt sustainable practices because there’s a fear that the change will come at the expense of company profits. For awhile going green has been associated with increased spending for initial changes at a risk of decreased operational efficiency.
However, this isn’t necessarily the case today. There are many low cost and low risk ways to make your supply chain more sustainable. Becoming more environmentally friendly doesn’t mean converting to driverless trucks overnight or shutting down specific operations. It’s possible for business owners to gradually implement optimizations to rein in spending and allow for monitoring, thus reducing risks and being able to properly promote changes to both customers and partners.
How to Make Your Supply Chain Sustainable?
Businesses can start by making small yet impactful sustainability steps in the beginning by participating in environmental initiatives and partnerships. Although minor, these improvements can help to differentiate your brand as sustainable to customers; ultimately increasing brand loyalty and profits.
It’s essential to detect areas of your supply chain that are best suitable for the implementation of sustainability practices. On the supply level, perhaps consider buying from vendors who produce materials with lower waste. If you’re a producer, consider switching to alternative energy sources for manufacturing processes.
For transportation, integrate route optimization software to shorten the commute time for vehicles. Another option is to gradually abandon plastic packaging in favor of eco-friendly materials.
Sustainable Shipping with Best Global Logistics
At BGL, we strive to reduce transportation emissions through innovative tools and a reliable management system. We want to help our clients experience the benefits of green logistics. We’re ready to support your initiatives without harming delivery efficiency or increasing shipping prices. Get a quote to put greater sustainability into practice!