Even before the pandemic happened, the warehousing industry was on fire. Commercial real estate listings for storage facilities in or near major metropolitan areas have seen sustained demand as companies scrambled to secure space for eCommerce order fulfillment.
70% of US consumers report they are at least “somewhat concerned” about climate change, and are increasingly aware of the human impact of supply chains. Warehouses are the backbone of the modern supply chain, and there’s no sign that will change. There’s no sign that people will stop caring about sustainability. As such, designing and building a warehouse with a gentler impact in 2021 comes with the potential for powerful positive branding.
Some aspects of sustainable warehouse design are costly, while some may actually save money in the long run compared to the status quo. Let’s take a look.
1. Do something about the roof
Any conversation about sustainable warehousing needs to start there. The size and scope is breathtaking. On average, US warehouses take up about 185,000 square feet of space, almost 4 football fields. It presents arguably the most impactful opportunity to reduce emissions. Studies have shown that white-painted roofs can negate the urban heat island effect, although using specialized roofing systems will help you lower interior temperatures more than painting a standard tar roof white.
There are two other mechanisms for sustainable roofing, but keep in mind they are especially cost-intensive: Either create a living roof by planting native grasses — which trap rainwater as well as provide better insulation year-round — or, most expensive of all, to cover the roof in a solar array. For either one of these options, you would spend a significant amount of money in the short term, and you would also need to make sure your warehouse roof was designed to carry the added weight of either vegetation or solar panels.
2. Be smart about ventilation
HVAC systems are extremely expensive for a space as large as a warehouse. Simply opening cargo bay doors in strategic areas, plus using swamp coolers, can increase airflow and keep the interior cooler than the outside on hot days.
If you are still in the design phase of constructing a new warehouse, talk to your architect about the placement of openings like doors and windows, the positioning of them relative to the trajectory of the sun, and other key passive factors that impact temperature regulation of the building.
3. Be pragmatic about the materials you use
Single-use materials, in particular plastics, have become a boogeyman of climate change activists in recent years. It is inevitable that some waste is going to be involved — think of all the acrylic packing tape, bubble wrap, and other items that get thrown out by customers when they receive their product in the mail.
But your warehouse can do its part by separating waste according to recycling, landfill, and compost. If your municipal government does not offer recycling or compostable waste management, lobby for it!
4. Pay for carbon offsets.
In lieu of a carbon tax levied by the government to fund climate-resilient infrastructure and similar initiatives, you can voluntarily offset carbon taxes. Nonprofit organizations like Carbon Fund have carbon offset calculators for businesses to make it easy for them to calculate how many trees need to be planted to offset emissions. Carbon Fund specifically targets reforestation efforts in previously virgin or old-growth forests in critically over-forested regions around the globe, including the Brazilian Amazon and the Lower Mississippi River Valley in the USA.
5. Build close to major throughways
When expanding or building new warehouse locations, being closer to major freeways or rail networks is a plus. The relative fuel efficiency of driving a truck down a freeway as opposed to smaller city streets or regional back roads is a major plus. The same can be said for proximity to rail freight depots.
6. Check for wasted energy spots
Every building has weak spots when it comes to energy conservation. Some of the most common areas include lighting, seals around doors and windows, and filters. Check to make sure materials are well-kept and functioning properly to avoid wasted energy. This means replacing burnt-out lightbulbs with LEDs, switching out dirty or clogged air filters at regular intervals to maximize HVAC efficiency, and ensuring that gaskets and seals around openings are airtight to avoid energy loss during hot or cold weather spells.
7. Check your assumptions about sustainable materials
If you are building or expanding your warehouse, consult with your engineering firm about what materials they plan on using. Don’t assume that using laminated timber instead of steel or concrete for parts of the structure will make it more sustainable.
8. Utilize native plants to reduce water loss and create shade
Installing native plants in surrounding areas of the warehouse offers multiple benefits.
First of all, they provide effective containment of storm runoff, which minimizes the strain on local utilities and can even prevent or mitigate flooding during downpours and other costly inundation events. Some municipalities provide utility discounts for bioswale or trees planted strategically on properties, so there may be a direct financial incentive to doing so.
Planting larger trees on the south-facing side of your warehouse can also provide much-needed shade from the sun during the hotter months, resulting in cooler interior temperatures and less strain on your cooling system (as well as employees).
Lastly, while acknowledging that commercial real estate is not cheap, nor is the point of a warehouse to be beautiful, planting native trees, shrubs, grasses, or flowers does count for something. If nothing else, the human workers who take their breaks outside the warehouse may appreciate a little bit of green in between the hours they spend indoors.
Conclusion
Increasing warehouse sustainability can take many shapes and forms. It can be cost and resource-intensive, or it can be about conservation. You can do it simply because it’s a better branding move for your company, because it may save money in the long run, or because you may feel that it is the morally right thing to do.
Regardless of intentions, the benefits of a warehouse that consumes less energy are hard to argue with. It’s only logical that as supply chains continue to evolve in efficiency and sustainable design, so too will warehouses.
About the Author
Jake Rheude, Director of Marketing for Red Stag Fulfillment
Jake Rheude is the Director of Marketing for Red Stag Fulfillment, an ecommerce fulfillment warehouse that was born out of ecommerce. He has years of experience in ecommerce and business development. In his free time, Jake enjoys reading about business and sharing his own experience with others.
1 comment
Hello Jake! The world of Logistics and 3PL is continuously evolving throughout the world, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, including the concept of green packaging, all the points you described are crucial and must be considered to make warehousing more sustainable whereas these practices are eco-friendly as well as result in better flow of the whole process.
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