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When it comes to sustainability, logistics are essential

 

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Bielefeld, September 14, 2020 – Sustainability is one of the top trends of our time. Not only in everyday life do we encounter innovative concepts in order to live more sustainably. Companies in particular have a responsibility to act sustainably – in the sense of being ecologically, socially and economically responsible. So does the logistics. And Germany’s third largest economic sector can do a lot to become even greener, more efficient and more social.

For the sake of the environment: Measures for a sustainable use of our resources
Logistics is resource-intensive. And not just in terms of personnel. This is precisely why it is in the power of logistics to plan in a resource-saving and sustainable manner. It starts with the building planning. This is where efficiency and environmental protection meet. For example, with thermally insulated hall roofs, LED and demand-based lighting concepts, minimizing the paper load in administrative processes or with plastic-reducing packaging solutions, logisticians can not only keep operating costs low, but also work in a way that conserves resources. This also applies to the vehicle fleet and transport management: by training drivers to drive in a fuel-efficient manner, by setting up or converting a modern, lower-emission fleet or by optimizing routes to save CO2 emissions. In order to minimize this, we at B + S have joined the Lean and Green program of GS1 Germany. With a comprehensive action plan, we were able to reduce our CO2 emissions by over 18 percent within two years.

For healthy growth: measures for the economic sustainability of a company
Logistics is rich in processes. Both in the warehouse and when transporting goods, there are a lot of manipulations that can be made more efficient through optimization. How such an optimization plan can look like has to be considered from handle to handle – especially in terms of automation. Which process can be automated in an economically sensible way? Which process is more efficient when carried out manually by trained personnel? And in transport management, too, there are many levers for logisticians to act sustainably: Goods can be consistently bundled and traffic can be optimally utilized. With the help of our tour optimization software, we minimize costs – and at the same time protect the environment.

Don’t forget people: social sustainability helps companies advance
Logistics thrives on staff. Therefore, the human factor must be taken into account in all process optimization and environmental protection. What is important here is a corporate culture that includes the employees as a central component and that does not just exist on paper. That is why we at B + S pursue sustainable personnel management, for example by offering targeted training and further education measures. This not only promotes know-how, but also ties it to your own company. And well-engineered occupational safety concepts not only increase safety in the workplace, but also the well-being of employees.

Conclusion: If all logisticians turn the screws given to them, the future of logistics will be one thing above all: sustainable.