Casey Swanson, senior director of supply chain management services with Shyft Global Services, discusses how technology can contribute to efforts to achieve sustainability and lower the carbon footprint of transportation and warehousing operations.

As companies face increasing pressure to embrace change and rethink how to efficiently deliver goods to market, they are placing more emphasis on practicing corporate social responsibility. And that translates into a need for greater sustainability in logistics functions. 

Carbon footprint reduction has become a priority, especially in transportation and warehousing. Aiding in the achievement of that goal is access to big data, paired with the analytical abilities of artificial intelligence, Swanson says. On the transportation side, that means optimizing networks so as to cut down on empty miles. In warehousing, companies are investing in “green” technology such as solar energy, rainwater capture and reuse, smart lighting and recycled packaging. 

To make that possible, companies first need to acquire the ability to measure their carbon footprint. Data needs to be shared both internally and externally, so that they can gain the economies of scale needed to calculate the total emissions of their global supply chains.

AI enables companies “to bring information in, compress it and understand what it’s telling us,” says Swanson. “It allows us to make more real-time decisions about optimizing every facet of the operation.”

Nearshoring is another technique that’s helping companies reduce their emissions and carbon footprint, by reducing dependence on long-haul transportation and bringing components and finished goods closer to end markets. At the same time, optimized inventory management translates into smaller warehouses, further reducing carbon emissions. “That adds up to a considerable savings,” Swanson says.

He also touts the value of incorporating sustainable reverse-logistics management into the overall supply chain, an approach that allows companies to “maximize value from every unit produced.”