The pursuit of sustainability is transforming the material handling industry, as increasingly more warehousing and distribution pros realize the benefits of implementing sustainable practices.

Even in today’s volatile economic environment, the global supply chain is moving toward a more sustainable and more responsible future. In the material handling industry, organizations are committing to sustainability practices, discovering ways to incorporate the concept in ways that save money and resources.

In a recent research study titled Sustainability in Warehousing, Distribution and Manufacturing, the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA) found that 48 percent of manufacturers and warehousing/distribution professionals currently have a sustainability initiative underway and 88 percent claim that sustainability will be of even greater importance over the next 18-24 months.

While 59 percent of respondents indicated that sustainability initiatives are a management directive, 42 percent said their customers were demanding it.

The vast majority (92 percent) believe that sustainability initiatives have the potential to save money and resources.

“Sustainability solutions are being implemented by business corporations, industrial manufacturers and service providers across a broad range of industries,” business research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan recently explained. “In the material handling industry, not only are manufacturers embracing internal changes to contribute to a better environment; they also have found a way to incorporate the concept into the design of the products they make, enabling end users to achieve their own sustainability goals as well.”

An overwhelming majority of MHIA survey respondents (78 percent) cited social responsibility as the driver behind sustainability initiatives, while 63 percent cited improving efficiencies. More than 60 percent of MHIA respondents said their greatest accomplishment is becoming energy efficient, followed by reducing waste.

Below are a few benefits of implementing sustainable practices in the material handling industry, as highlighted by Frost & Sullivan:

• Energy Efficiency — Implementing behavioral and operational changes to reduce energy usage allows companies to reduce operational expenditures. Plus, by redesigning the equipment and/or layout of their plants, companies can improve operational efficiency on multiple levels, not solely energy consumption. At the higher end of the cost spectrum, companies can “choose to make capital equipment investments to automate more of their operations,” Frost notes. By investing in more industrial automation, companies can reduce their environmental footprint as well as the amount of space needed for their facility to operate.
• Reduced Fuel Consumption — Many organizations, particularly end users with substantial material handling operations, are looking for ways to reduce the fuel consumption of their equipment, such as forklifts. In recent years, significant jumps in technology have made it possible to increase not only the efficiency and durability of machinery such as lift trucks, but also the fuel efficiency of such vehicles. With the increased availability of electric and hybrid forklifts in the market, “end users now have options as they develop and implement their own sustainability initiatives,” according to Frost.
• Waste Management — Many organizations’ sustainability initiatives include internal programs designed to help reduce material waste by the manufacturers at their own plants, as well as product design initiatives developed to ensure their products can be used by their customers in a sustainable fashion. Material reclamation and recycling can take place many ways, whether by simple back-end recycling efforts designed to cut down on office paper waste or by implementing comprehensive programs designed to reduce landfill waste or even achieve zero-landfill status.

Among those that have adopted sustainable practices, almost half (48 percent) of MHIA respondents said their initiatives are facility-based — such as equipment systems and practices on site — rather than product- or supplier-based (1 percent) — similar to Wal-Mart’s sustainability assessment program. Approximately 47 percent reported their initiatives are a combination of both.

The material handling and logistics equipment and technologies that are most often cited as contributing to being environmentally stable are automatic identification, totes and containers and lift trucks.

“When it comes to material handling in any industry, there seems to be a constant theme of sustainability,” Supply Chain Digital recently said. “While your business operations and facilities may be up to par when it comes to energy efficiency and getting the most out of your resources with the lowest carbon emission possible, the options remain endless when it comes to sustainability in handling.”

Resources

Sustainability in Warehousing, Distribution and Manufacturing
Material Handling Industry of America, Spring 2011

MHIA Releases Results of Sustainability Study During ProMat 2011
Material Handling Industry of America, April 4, 2011

Going Green: Sustainability Best Practices in the Material Handling Industry
by Rebecca Tucker
Frost & Sullivan, Feb. 10, 2011

Handle with Care: Sustainability in Handling
by Kevin Scarpati
Supply Chain Digital, May 10, 2011