Four Ways to Reduce Supply Chain Carbon Footprint

reduce your carbon footprintThe US had prepared a report in cooperation with the Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emission where they stated that the transportation industry accounted for the maximum emission (for about twenty-nine percent) of greenhouse gas in the United States. Transports including cars, trucks, railroads, commercial aircraft, etc. fall in the category that contributed to an increase in greenhouse gases for the procurement consultants. On average, it was calculated that more than 7 percent of the carbon footprint of an industry is attributed to the supply chain’s emissions.

As you all are knowledgeable about the role played by greenhouse gas emissions in increasing global warming and drastically changing climate conditions, paying attention to the amount of carbon emitted from the transportation industry can significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emitted. The manufacturers, logistic companies, and retailers can reduce supply chain waste, improve energy efficiency, and conserve natural resources, and promote the use of clean energy to decrease the carbon footprint. Business owners need to change the way they do business to contribute to a cleaner and greener environment.

Regardless of the part, you play in the US supply chain, you can follow up on these tips to reduce the carbon footprint.

Constantly measuring and outlining carbon emissions

reduce the amount of carbon emittedDo you keep an account of the total amount of carbon emitted from your supply chain? If not, start doing it from today onwards. The first step in reducing the amount of carbon emitted by the quality control subcontractors is to know how much you are producing and reporting the amount daily. Knowing the total amount of energy consumed by your business in manufacturing and transporting the services will help you get a clear structure of the entire carbon footprint framework. This will include the consumption of energy from A to Z, starting with the suppliers, through the manufacturing facilities, and ending with several transportation methods involved.

You can measure the energy consumed by keeping track of the materials used, how products are being manufactured, and the energy expenditures. Once you know the impact, you can readily reduce the impact carbon has on the environment.

Create a concentrated supply chain

create a centralized supply chain networkTry keeping your supply chain network within your reach and more compact. A majority of organizational owners find it cheap to outsource their service to countries across the globe to lower the production cost. While focusing on the cost reduction process, they tend to become blinded about the increased distance that the material and goods require to travel to reach the end consumer. Contracting suppliers and manufacturers from a far-away place will also increase transportation and shipping costs, all of which will contribute to the carbon footprint of the supply chain.

To cope with this problem, business owners can extend their business relations with suppliers that are physically closer to the retail facility. By creating a centralized supply chain network, products have to travel less, less fuel will be consumed, and the overall carbon footprint will also be reduced.

Extend business relations with sustainable suppliers

connect with sustainable suppliersSuppliers are an integral part of your business and the carbon footprint of the supply chain. Oftentimes, procurement consultants are incapable of understanding how sustainability can influence supply chain management programs. By creating a road map, supply chain managers can categorize the shortlisted suppliers according to their level of influence. Now, every supplier will have his way of conducting business. Instead of teaching them your method, start partnering with them. You can do this by analyzing both opportunities and risks associated with the suppliers and how they will affect the outside and inside of the company. If you feel convinced by their strategies and methods, you are well placed on the road followed by them. However, proper investigation is required for achieving a thorough curve of the sustainability journeys, which will create new opportunities for learning as well.

All this while, supply chain managers can also focus on educating the suppliers lagging and help them to come forward with knowledge and experience.

Keep your customers informed

sustainable consumer behaviourConsumers, nowadays, are becoming more bothered about terms like global warming, greenhouse gases, and climate changes. They are growing concerned about the environment that many among them are changing their shopping habits. But a majority of retailers and manufacturers tend to keep their customers in dark. When it comes to helping the environment, it needs to be done as a whole. To do that, manufacturers can add transportation details to help change the shopping habits of customers and to make them more conscious about how the consumed energy is impacting the environment.

You can consider adding a carbon footprint calculator to your website and your clients can check through the calculations when placing an order.

These are some of the many ways in reducing the supply chain’s carbon footprint. The quality control subcontractors can utilize these methods and extend their helping hand in keeping the environment healthy.

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