The United Kingdom Warehousing Association is working with the Carbon Trust to create an “emissions toolkit” to help warehouse operators cut carbon and save costs.
The Carbon Trust is an independent company backed by the government to help businesses measure, manage and reduce their carbon footprints, and has identified a number of sectors where its support could have the greatest impact.
It has estimated the warehousing industry represents approximately three per cent of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions.
Keith Horgan, Carbon Trust partnership development manager, said: “We believe there are substantial opportunities within the warehousing industry to save energy, costs and reduce carbon in warehousing by the simple implementation of existing, low energy technology.
“We are not talking about high-tech solutions but pragmatic and cost-effective actions. For example, lighting and heating are the core areas for our energy and carbon saving focus. We believe the UK warehousing industry could save in excess of £150 million in energy costs and 1.5 million tonnes of carbon by making simple changes.”
“A partnership with UKWA is the most effective way to engage with warehousing owners and operators and to encourage the industry to make cost savings through carbon management.”
The Carbon Trust is currently undertaking a series of site surveys and workshops with UKWA members to evaluate opportunities for savings. The surveys will also assess the potential barriers for introducing energy saving systems and consider the payback period on the warehouse operator’s investment in such schemes.
The results of the surveys are expected by April 2010 and will be used to produce a bespoke emissions toolkit for the benefit of all UKWA members.
Michael Davidson, UKWA’s membership services manager, added: “UKWA’s 650 member companies operate nearly 10 million square metres of warehousing from around 2,000 depots across the UK, which, according to the Carbon Trust, makes up a significant proportion of the warehousing industry’s carbon footprint of approximately 10.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
“UKWA is keen to be seen as a champion of green issues within the 3PL sector, but the ‘emissions toolkit’ will enable our members to accurately evaluate the positive impact new energy saving systems could have on the profitability of their businesses.”
