Greening the Supply Chain: A Sustainable Approach to Packaging, Transport & Collaboration

When a global giant like Apple or Amazon replaces their traditional supply chain with a sustainable one, the ripple-impact is transformative and industry-defining. While many efforts are being made by these companies, a lot more remains to be done. Sustainable packaging and transport are not only the need of the hour, but also an effective business proposition today. While the aim remains reduced carbon emissions, these can also help in reshaping consumer perceptions as well as setting new industry standards. Aligning yourself with Environmental, social and governance or ESG goals would require you to re-imagine how products move from origin to their final destination. From the time a product is packed, to the way it is transported across various cities and countries. Measurable, science-based interventions can help business unlock their potential to optimize carbon across the distribution chain.

The Hidden Emissions in Distribution

In most cases, scope 3 emissions move beyond what meets the eye. These emissions are generated by resources that are not directly owned or controlled by a company. Surprisingly, these comprise the bulk of a product's carbon footprint. So be it over-engineered packaging, inefficient warehousing, fuel-guzzling vehicles, and poorly optimized logistics, emissions can often creep up into the distribution chain.

When it comes to a country like India, with its big, and often unorganized, supply chains, it becomes paramount to address these emission hotspots with a practical as well as a highly personalized approach.

Green packaging: Why is it important?

Plastic-heavy solutions, bulky cartons, or multi-layered packing make up traditional packaging methods used since time immemorial. While these often end up increasing the use of materials, they also increase the volume, as well as the weight, of the products being transported. This, in turn, trickles down to increased emissions from transport as well. Coming back to Amazon, their Frustration-Free Packaging program has eliminated over 2 million tons of packaging material and reduced shipping emissions by minimizing box sizes and weight. However, a lot more is to be done. A study, published in the journal, states that one of the hidden consequences of e-commerce acceptance is the rising packaging plastic problem. It has typically employed unwanted secondary and tertiary packaging, often considered necessary for transportation.

Photo by Brian Stalter on Unsplash

At Fitsol, a number one decarbonization partner, we believe in helping businesses view packaging through a carbon lens. This would entail shifting to lighter, recyclable, or biodegradable alternatives, optimising dimensions to eliminate dead space during shipping, as well as adoption of reusable packaging, especially in B2B ecosystems. This will also improve customer perception, as well as help in reducing overall costs and emissions. But packaging is just the beginning of the race ahead. Once a product leaves the facility, transport becomes the next frontier in cutting carbon.

Greening the Transport Chain

Transport is one of the highest-emission sectors globally. According to data provided by the United Nations, the transport sector is accountable for nearly one quarter of greenhouse gas emissions. As much as 95 per cent of the world's transport energy is still attributed to fossil fuels. So, if your business is placed in a market dominated by diesel-powered trucks and fragmented logistics, you need to get your emissions in check quickly.

Here, at Fitsol we provide businesses with a framework to audit their logistics emissions through granular data analysis. Switching to cleaner fuels such as CNG or EVs is the way ahead for many. Of course, sustainable service-level agreements (SLAs) with third-party logistics (3PLs) can help as well.

Green warehousing and how to go about it?

Energy consumption, cooling systems, and inefficiencies in inventory flow make up for the many warehousing emissions contributions. The adoption of solar and energy-efficient lighting and cooling in warehouses, implementing smart inventory systems that help reduce storage time and associated emissions, as well as the use of carbon benchmarking is the way forward.

How to make a low-carbon distribution chain?

This requires collaboration across sectors, and cannot be done in isolation. So be it suppliers, logistics providers, and packaging vendors, they all need to be aligned in their goal to decarbonize. This is where Fitsol comes in. We can help you set up your green ecosystem, bringing together stakeholders, setting joint emission reduction targets, and enabling collective reporting frameworks. Fitsol is proud to partner with Indian enterprises on this journey, helping them drive carbon reduction from packaging to transport—and beyond.

Citation
United Nations report: https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/media_gstc/FACT_SHEET_Climate_Change.pdf

Journal of Cleaner Production: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652624008928

Amazon case study: https://freight.amazon.co.uk/newsroom/reducing-packaging?ref=e_co_r4s_newsroom_web_reducing_packaging