Reducing the environmental impact of warehousing

Transcription

1 1 Reducing the environmental impact of warehousing 09 Chapter summary Compared to the use of transport, little attention to date has been given to evaluating the environmental implications of warehousing within the supply chain. This chapter attempts to redress the balance by considering a range of possible changes to warehousing which would reduce its overall environmental impact. The main focus is on micro-level changes that individual companies could consider. Warehousing encompasses a wide range of supply chain activities. Modern warehouses tend to be large, capital-intensive and worked at high levels of utilization. Whilst energy use is high there is undoubtedly significant scope for carbon reduction. The chapter outlines a framework for assessing the environmental impact of warehousing, and then uses it to identify a set of stages through which companies can improve their environmental performance. They should begin by conducting a full audit of existing activities and energy use to identify priority areas for improvement. Whilst substantial gains can be made through changes to existing equipment or practices, other gains require sustainability to be designed into new buildings. Companies should not only try to raise the energy efficiency of their warehouses; other large benefits can come from sourcing of green energy for use in warehousing operations. Around the world various environmental standards for warehousing have been established although lack of consistency between them may be a barrier to implementation. The main standards are outlined and various recent examples given of best practice in the design of new warehouse buildings. Overall, recent best practice demonstrates that sustainable warehousing can be a reality, but the longevity of warehouse structures means that it will take many years for full environmental benefits of new practices to be achieved.

2 2 Reducing the Environmental Impact of Warehousing A lecture based on this chapter could focus on the following topics: Review of the roles of warehousing in the modern supply chain Environmental issues relating to warehouses and their operation Framework for auditing the environmental performance of warehousing and identifying potential areas for environmental improvement Established standards for sustainable warehousing Recent examples of environmentally-sustainable warehousing

3 Reducing the Environmental Impact of Warehousing 3 Table 9.1 Recommended light levels in open and racked warehouse areas General warehouse lighting conditions Target installed circuit W/m Lux 500 Lux General lighting in open area Constrained by aisle and height Aisle width (metres) Mounting height (metres) 150 Lux 300 Lux Source: Carbon Trust (2002a) Table 9.2 Appropriate lamps by activity area Site location Space use Recommended lamp type Internal Offices Triphosphor tubular fluorescent, compact fluorescent, low voltage tungsten halogen Factories Triphosphor tubular fluorescent, high pressure sodium, metal halide, inductive, emergency directional LED External Car parks High pressure sodium, metal halide, compact fluorescent Floodlighting Metal halide and high pressure sodium Source: Adapted from Carbon Trust (2007)

4 4 Reducing the Environmental Impact of Warehousing Table 9.3 Energy consumption benchmarks for setting good practice design targets in storage and distribution property Building-related energy (kwh/m 2 per year) Building standard Heating & hot water (fossil) Fans, pumps controls (electricity) Lighting (electricity) Other (electricity) Total electricity Total Typical Improved New Source: Carbon Trust (2000)

5 Reducing the Environmental Impact of Warehousing 5 Table 9.4 BREEAM Comparison of weighting factors in the BREEAM and LEED accreditation schemes LEED Energy Pollution 19% 10% Energy and atmosphere 33% Health and well-being 15% Indoor environmental quality 16% Materials 12.5% Material and resources 13% Management 12% Integrative process 1% Land use and ecology 10% Sustainable sites 10% Transport 8% Location and transport 16% Waste 7.5% ( Construction and demolition waste management : 2%, included in Material and resources category) Water 6% Water efficiency 11% Total 100% Total 100% Innovation 10% (additional to 100%) Innovation and regional priority 10% (additional to 100%) Source: BRE Global (2012) and US Green Building Council (2013)

6 6 Reducing the Environmental Impact of Warehousing Figure 9.1 Energy consumption in the UK service sector (split by thousands of tonnes of oil equivalent) Sport and Leisure, 5% Warehouses, 12% Commercial Offices, 8% Communication and Transport, 3% Education, 16% Retail, 20% Government, 10% Other, 5% Health, 9% Hotel and Catering, 12% Source: Adapted from Department of Energy and Climate Change (2013a) 2012 figures shown

7 7 Figure 9.2 Framework of assessment for developing sustainability in warehousing Micro-level perspective Business & Economy Macro-level perspective Environment & Society Scope Energy Direct energy Fossil fuels Water Services Fire Green Field Land & Buildings For power Control For light Building temperature regulations Brownfield Land use Recreational use Water management Recycled materials Environment Visual intrusion Travel plans Green energy Ecology Landscaping Biodiversity Recreational use Stages toward sustainability 1) Baseline energy efficient warehouse Appropriate lighting levels Active maintenance and control Investment in luminaries Appropriate heating levels Control of air changes Active maintenance and control Using recovered, solar energy Generating green energy, CHP and wind Purchasing green energy Battery maintenance Use of LPG for counterbalance Investment in HF charging 2) Low-emission and green energy warehouse 3) Sustainable warehouses Focus on cost and direct emissions Improving operations and equipment specification Meeting minimum standards Measuring building energy performance Focus on cost Water recovery and management Solar and thermal recovery Generating green energy Local sourcing of materials Low-energy materials Managing supply chain sustainably Achieving BREEAM excellent standard Exceeding minimum standards Focus on total lifetime emissions and costs Whiteing and Maja Piecyk (2015) Green Logistics, 3rd edition, Kogan Page, London,

8 8 Reducing the Environmental Impact of Warehousing F i g u r e 9.3 UK warehouse energy consumption Other, 12% Catering, 7% Computing, 2% Cooling and ventilation, 3% Hot water, 4% Lighting, 20% Heating, 52% Source: Adapted from Department of Energy and Climate Change (2013a) (totals may add to more than 100 due to rounding)

9 Reducing the Environmental Impact of Warehousing 9 F i g u r e 9.4 Energy audit of an existing warehouse 1. Establish energy base case consumption (absolute consumption) and then convert to consumption by area (KWh/m 2 /yr) Supplier energy bills (supply side) Floor space from building plan or property agreement 2. Determine end-use consumption types and establish base case energy consumption by these end-use type Measurement of internal energy consumption (demand side) 3. Examine consumption by end-use types and warehouse types 4. Identify ECOs within warehouses by end-use type Structured energy survey of warehouses 5. Predict ECO benefits; the energy conserved and financial saving 6. Categorize ECOs by type of spending 7. Evaluate ECOs within business context 8. For capital spend ECOs, rank these to reflect return on investment and risk Evaluate capital spend ECOs against: return on investment and risk to investment; the reliability of the source of the benefit prediction and the likelihood of the benefit continuing throughout the predicted life of the ECO (persistency) Source: Reproduced from: Dhooma, J and Baker, P (2012) An exploratory framework for energy conservation in existing warehouses, International Journal of Logistics: Research & Applications, 15 (1), pp 37 51, with permission of the publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd

10 10 Reducing the Environmental Impact of Warehousing Figure 9.5 Comparison in estimated cost of on- and offsite renewables Capital cost of small-scale wind 12.5 Capital cost of solar PV Capital cost of biomass CHP Capital cost of large-scale wind per kg CO 2 Source: Adapted from UK Green Building Council (2007: 48) Figure 9.6 Alnatura distribution centre in Lorsch, Germany (under construction) Source: Swisslog

11 Reducing the Environmental Impact of Warehousing 11 F i g u r e 9.7 Adnams distribution centre in Southwold, UK Source: P Baker