Whether you own/rent your own warehouse or pay for warehousing services, a best-in-class green warehouse would consider the following green initiatives at the operations level:

• Reducing stock holding is the fastest way to reduce the carbon impact of warehousing.
• Investing in a Warehouse Management System to maximise storage and reduce the number of trips made by the handling equipment.
• For fuel-based of mechanical handling equipment, reduce fuel consumption, carry out appropriate maintenance, provide fuel efficient driving training. At end of life, replace with electric MHE (ensuring the electricity used is low carbon).
• Measuring waste (tonnes/sqm per day), % of waste recycled, reducing waste (reduce inventory disposal due to overproduction, obsolescence, faulty product / go paperless / use eco-friendly packaging).‍
• Responsible sourcing of store pallets, labels and packaging.
  

There is one area of immediate opportunity that organisations can leverage for CO2 reduction: operational efficiency in transport. Operational efficiency is usually aligned to cost reduction. Adding CO2 impact to the decision-making process can lead to real reduction opportunities.  

Three of the main areas of focus around efficiency are Mode, Fill, and Fuel:

• ‍MODE: Achieving an optimal mix of modes used is probably the biggest opportunity especially if there is high reliance on air freight. Air freight can easily generate 50 times or more CO2 per tonne shipped than ocean freight.  The optimal mode of transport needs to be assessed, with the idea being to shift to lower CO2 modes where possible, such as air to sea or road to rail. In addition, looking at multimodal solutions, such as air-sea solutions for intercontinental shipments, can reduce CO2 and costs, with medium lead-times.
• ‍FILL: Increasing the utilisation of cargo, usually more targeted at ocean and road freight. The goal here is to maintain high capacity-utilisation of containers and trucks (optimising loads in terms of weight and volume, possibly partnering with complementary products) and to minimise empty miles (e.g. empty return trips). This can have a significant impact on CO2 through reduced use of assets resulting in fewer kilometres travelled. Shifting from owned fleet to transportation providers often helps optimise loads and routes to reduce overall carbon emissions.
• ‍FUEL: Increasing fuel-efficiency, primarily applicable to road freight. As the goal here is to continually improve the overall fuel efficiency of the fleet, through asset renewal programmes to ensure compliance with the latest emission standards, route optimisation through a TMS (Transport Management System), driver training programmes, fuel loyalty programmes with companies investing in green energy or carbon offsetting, or other initiatives.
  

The main entry points for renewables in the transport sector are:

• The use of biofuels blended with conventional fuels, as well as higher blends including 100% liquid biofuels;
• Natural gas vehicles and infrastructure converted to run on upgraded biomethane; and
• The electrification of transport modes, including through the use of battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles or of hydrogen, synthetic fuels, and electric fuels, where the electricity is itself renewable.
  

Whether you own/rent your own warehouse or pay for warehousing services, a best-in-class green warehouse would consider the following green initiatives at the building level:

• ‍Adherence to the Code for the Environmental Sustainability of Buildings drafted by The Building  and Construction Authority of Singapore which has largely adopted the  Green Mark’s criteria as the compliance method for assessing the environmental performance of a building development. At the end of the construction the building receives a Green Mark score for its environmental performance.
• ‍Adherence to a recognised environmental management system such as ISO14001, possibly with a certification such as Green Mark Platinum or Energy and Environmental Design Gold Certification can be a good start to improving carbon emissions. Some warehouses claim to be carbon net-zero and need to justify this (CarbonZero, CEMARS certification).
• ‍The design and construction of a warehouse is the preferred stage to optimise future energy consumption of the facility: use of eco-concrete and other green building materials, orientation of the building to maximise daylight source and minimise heat from the sun, building vertically,  layout to minimise travel, maximise greenery around the warehouse, collection of  rainwater for gardening or toilets, use of water efficient sanitary ware.
• ‍Next is the energy of the building. Obtaining the electricity consumption (in kWh/sqm) is a good way to benchmark the energy efficiency of the warehouse. Then, switching to a utiliy provider or electricity plan that uses renewable energies rather than gas/fuel-mixed power from the Singapore grid is another good way to reduce the carbon impact.
• ‍Utilising the roof or land area to install photovoltaic panels is a great way to reduce the carbon impact of the warehouse operations.
• ‍Energy efficiency can be improved with an efficient air conditioning system, cooling system, roof and window insulation, solar shading, solar water heating.
• ‍Investing in a Building Management System (BMS) with automatic control of solar blinds and sun louvres, automatic control of windows for natural ventilation, automatic control of plant and systems, integrated with lighting control system, temperature control and door control. A BMS can provide an energy and water monitoring system and help identify areas for improvement.
• ‍Switching to LED lighting where required
• ‍Consideration with regards to neighbourhood inconvenience (noise, odour, dust).
  

Optimizing packaging for sustainability involves a combination of strategic planning, material selection, design considerations, and operational practices. Here some steps that you can take:

• Choose sustainable materials such as recycled cardboard, paperboard, or biodegradable/compostable plastics and prioritize materials that are easily have a lower environmental impact throughout their lifecycle.
• Design packaging to be minimalist, using only the necessary amount of material to protect the product and optimize dimensions to minimize empty space and reduce transportation costs and carbon emissions.
• Explore options for reusable secondary packaging, such as containers or boxes that customers can return for refilling or recycling.
• Collaborate with suppliers to source sustainable packaging materials and explore innovative solutions throughout the entire supply chain, from production to disposal.
• Ensure compliance with relevant standards and requirements in your country / region to minimize environmental impact and avoid penalties.
• Regularly review and update your packaging strategy (continuous improvement) to incorporate new technologies, materials, and best practices.
  

Singapore is a unique market where many consumers have their food or products delivered to their homes. E-commerce has grown significantly in the last few years, providing a convenient way for many Singaporeans to shop.

Opting for a Sustainable Last Mile Delivery (or GLAD - green last mile delivery) is mainly about taking action:

• Using a fleet of electric vans or considering bicycles/e-bikes for smaller items. There is a new approach for two-wheel delivery fleets using battery swapping technology. Singapore currently has 3,600 charging points for electric vehicles nationwide, with a target of 60,000 points by 2030. While the national grid is still highly carbon-intensive, it is important to remove carbon emissions from residential areas and concentrate them in power plants. In addition to reducing air pollution, EVs also reduce noise pollution.
• Optimising delivery routes using a last-mile technology system (shared assets (vehicles) and driver pool, traffic data, bundling deliveries to one customer, offering customers an eco-delivery with a slight delay).

One area to watch in the coming years is drone delivery, which will dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of delivery.

Retail is the interface with the end customers. Going green in this space helps to raise awareness among a wide audience.

Green retailing is the  practice of running your business with eco-friendly processes. Below are some sustainable practices in retail that can be implemented:

• Sell greener/ethical products
• Use environmentally friendly POS displays (wood-based decor and displays), choose paints containing low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), bring houseplants into your store,  switch to bulk dispensers,
• Reduce your waste, avoid using single-use items, offer biodegradable bags, eliminate paper receipts, reuse boxes and other packaging materials, rescue food and decrease food waste
• Offer in-store recycling programmes (customers can bring in their plastic waste and receive a voucher for various products in your store or a discount)
• Make some eco-friendly store upgrades (automatic light sensors in bathrooms and stockrooms, LED light bulbs, water-efficient sinks and toilets)
  

Reverse logistics refers to the supply chain process of returning products from end users back through the supply chain to either the retailer or manufacturer.

Challenge: In reverse logistics, a company must expect its products to be returned from multiple origin sources, the volumes will be far less than those going down through forward logistics and handling costs will be much higher than the generic logistics because the assortment of returned goods is irregular, unlike manufactured goods.

Opportunity: customers benefit from a positive experience, it reduces customer waste and represents a "free" input back into the company's production process. The circular economy is the way forward, so the sooner a company embraces the change and rewires the supply chain, the higher the ROI will be.

You could:

• Start by defining your returns policy & process
• Rewire your manufacturing or refurbishment process
• Set up a repair or maintenance business
• Partner with a logistics provider
• Re-think your packaging for returns
• Manage product end-of-life