Effective and Eco-Friendly Logistic Solutions: Newmatec 2023
Greenhouse gas emissions and climate change are among top challenges we face in our time. Doing business responsibly and sustainably are themes that keep busy both society and world leaders, it is therefore important for companies to consider environmental impact of their actions and adapt sustainable solutions.
Eco-friendly logistic process control already exists today. Process digitalization severely cuts down the consumption of paper and brings companies closer to achieving sustainability. Efficient management of transportation reduces CO2 emissions and improves quality of the air we breathe. But which solutions can be labeled as sustainable? Our CEO Martin Jančo delved into these topics during his Newmatec 2023 presentation.
Impact of Digitalization on Paper Consumption
Cepi (European association representing the paper industry) states, that in 2020 Slovakia used 378,000 metric tonnes of paper (1). During his lecture, Martin Jančo presented an example of an efficient and sustainable solution, that has been applied to 6 worksites in a facility with 3-shift uninterrupted operation. These worksites consume up to 2,000 A4-sized sheets of paper for printing of records. Useful lifetime of these records tops at 10 minutes, then they turn into waste paper. One tree can provide us with roughly 8,300 A4-sized sheets of paper (2), meaning that just 6 of these worksites consume one tree in just 4 days, that’s up to 90 trees per year. Calculations show paper costs of these worksites to be 7,200 EUR per year, but costs of printer toner add the same amount on top of that, doubling the total costs. However, substituting the process with its digital version can boost the efficiency of employees by up to 30%, speed up expedition by 35% and cut down the error rate to 0.0001%. Savings in human resources can bring you 79,200 EUR*, so if you invest into deployment of a smart system and electronic solution, your investment can pay itself off in just one year.
*median gross yearly salary of 3 employees working in a facility with 3-shift uninterrupted operation including bonuses for working nights
Efficient and responsible management of transport
Digitalization of various logistic processes can help improve the quality of air and environment around us. Places suffering from traffic jams also suffer from four times higher levels of CO2 caused by extremely slow-moving vehicles (moving roughly 10 km/h in a jam) when compared to vehicles driving smoothly at 80km/h. Planning transport into time slots and distributing them evenly can decrease the risk of traffic jam and at the same time, it can make logistics more efficient, distribute staff workload more evenly and cut down stress level and time pressure of all parties involved and improve the overall quality of air and environment. Data on road transport from 2019 suggest, that about 10% of transported goods’ volume can be moved to trains if railroad and road transport are combined, further reducing levels of CO2 measured at roads around facilities.
Even Small Steps Are Important
Nowadays, responsible approach to doing business is important not just due to social responsibility it brings, but also due to preservation of environment and sustainable management of natural resources. It may appear, that small steps can’t change the global situation of our planet, but the truth is, that every step taken in the direction of sustainability is important. Through our day-to-day decisions, every single one of us can help reach sustainable way of life and help create better and healthier environment for us all.
However, companies know that there is more to sustainable solutions than just ecology, their implementation must make sense also from economic point of view. Continuous technological development constantly brings about new solutions. However, they are often not sufficiently refined – and this makes them unprofitable as a result. Sometimes it is better to wait, ascertain the situation and consult experts while you ponder your decision. If there is anything we can help you with or advise you about, do not hesitate to contact us.
References