Nowadays it becomes more and more popular to promote environmental awareness. You can hardly find a person who knows nothing about such issues as oil drilling, deforestation, or acid rains. People tend to adapt their lives to new demands – they try to utilize more sustainable materials, get rid of plastic goods, and use green energy. More and more industries and businesses tend to implement sustainability initiatives into their operations processes. 3PL logistics is not an exception.
It won’t be an exaggeration to say that freight forwarding is one of the leaders when it comes to environmental pollution.
Although freight forwarders are rather restricted in their capacities and opportunities for becoming fully sustainable, there are still several tactics every expedited trucking company or freight forwarder may experience. They are the following:
- Less waste.
Just imagine any unboxing process in order to realize how much waste is left after transportation. Warehouses are full of boxes, films, and tapes. Only a few firms pay attention to proper waste management. They sort litter, recycle what can be recycled, and do everything possible to leave less waste after each transportation. It’s a good idea to use recyclable or reusable materials to minimize the amount of waste.
- Minimum carbon footprint.
It’s one of the most challenging tasks the logistics industry has to solve. Unfortunately, the fuels used by modern vans can’t be called sustainable. Biofuels may become an awesome alternative to gas but not all companies are ready to utilize them. The same is true about hydrogen fuel.
- Fewer trucks on the roads.
More and more companies benefit from the use of the so-called split shipments. This type of transportation allows you not only to reduce shipping costs but minimize the number of vans engaged in the process.
- More cooperation.
Truck transportation is one of the most popular modes nowadays. It allows you to deliver goods to any point as fast as possible. Yet, it’s not “the greenest” mode. If you want to make shipping as eco-friendly as possible, you are to experience intermodal shipments. They imply a combination of truck, rail, and air types of transportation.
One of the major reasons why 3PL companies are not fond of the idea of going green is the financial issue. Neither freight forwarders nor business owners are ready to pay more for shipping. The shift towards sustainable transportation is rather expensive. No wonder, only a few agencies implement green elements in their operational processes at the moment.
If you are eco-aware and desire to contribute to environmental protection, it’s better to cooperate with eco-friendly forwarders. Although you are going to pay a little bit more, you may count on excellent shipping services that do not hurt nature.
To sum it up, it should be stated that nowadays it’s of prime importance to pay attention to nature protection. One little step, for instance, the shift towards eco-friendly packaging materials, is to help humankind to save the earth. 3PL agencies should not stay reluctant to do anything.