Warehouse - United Kingdom Warehousing Association

22 EnvironmentGreen gaugeMorag White, co-founder of Environment4Logisitics, considers some of thechallenges for a logistics operation to successfully implement a green strategy,which includes low carbon initiatives as well as sound environmental managementWhen embarking on an article ongreen logistics it’s difficult to knowwhere to start – potential efficiencyimprovement, a legal standpoint or a purecost view? Either way you cannot start withoutcommenting on the size of the challengefor freight transport and warehousingfrom a green perspective. Work byProfessor Alan McKinnon highlights that ifwe want to achieve government targets of80% reduction in C02 emissions we need toachieve some quite staggering feats oflogistics management. His work suggeststhat if we implement all strategies and gainthe maximum benefits possible we canachieve these targets. Through an integratedlogistics strategy which includes reducingmiles, doing some things better and thensome things completely differently it is possible,however, in my opinion this can onlybe achieved with a solid foundation of environmentalmanagement considered as partof the overall logistics strategy.My intention is not to focus on how torun a fuel-efficient transport operation, asthere are others more qualified than I to dothis. What I would like to consider is someof the challenges for a logistics operation tosuccessfully implement a green strategy,which includes low carbon initiatives as wellas sound environmental management.One of the largest risks to a low carbonstrategy is the disconnect between policyand practice. My business carried out avery simple poll at a conference a fewmonths ago asking logistics companieswhether they had an environmental policy.Over 95% of those in the room did. Whenasked however, did they understand HOWtheir company meets these obligations therewas a deafening silence! Whilst you couldaccept that some of the audience memberswhere not those accountable for the environmentin their companies, it was clearthat grand public statements of environmentalintegrity and carbon managementcould not be backed up by genuine understandingat the ground level of how this isMay 2013www.ukwa.org.uk