Ask Capacity: How Do You Incorporate Sustainability Into Your Operations?
Sustainability is an important element of the supply chain, especially now that we know so much about our world and the environmental impact of activities in our business sector.
Consumers are also asking questions about where their goods come from and how their orders affect the environment.
On Earth Day, it seems fitting to answer a question that we hear a lot more nowadays: how does Capacity handle sustainable operations?
Our Part in a Sustainable Supply Chain
From the moment a product is manufactured in its country of origin, through being packed up, transported halfway around the world - not to overlook Made in the USA! - and repackaged for distribution to the end customer, it's clear that supply chain operations impact the environment considerably.
Our part in that process leans heavily towards handling inbound cargo and the final mile, but we're inevitably influenced by what comes before that. The clients we serve will always bring their unique requests for sustainable solutions and we're more than happy to integrate them into our existing efforts.
Closer to home, here are some of the steps we take to ensure an environmentally-friendly operation at our New Jersey and California locations:
- Solar Power: Much of the roofing at our campus in New Jersey is made up of solar panels, which generate enough electricity to power our facilities when the sun shines.
- Smart Lighting: Some areas of our warehouse use sensor-activated lighting so that we can cut down on energy waste during times of low activity.
- Recycled Packaging: Almost all of our goods are packed and sent out in 100% recycled post-consumer content. Crunch up that craft paper (and old newspapers) and you've got more than environmentally-friendly materials, it's also extremely protective packaging! Outside the box, we clean, bundle, and resell recycled shrink wrap and OCC (Old Corrugated Cardboard).
- Those Familiar Blue Bins: It's not just a residential requirement. Quite rightly, businesses in North Brunswick are also required to recycle our bottles, cans, and any paper not used in the packing process. You'll see the appropriate receptacles all around the Capacity campus, reminding everyone to do their part.
A Case Study in Carpooling
A final example of Capacity's commitment to sustainability comes not from our operations, but from our employees. Specifically, from their desire to reduce emissions in traffic-heavy New Jersey.
Being somewhat data-obsessed, a 2012 analysis by our CEO Jeff Kaiden concluded that we saved around 35,000 gallons of gas a year, thanks to employees joining together or using another form of transport to reach our New Jersey campus.
The image below shows a snapshot of his extensive number crunching:
Carpooling, public transportation, biking, and even walking to work contributed to that commendable effort. Now, around 72% of our NJ team use a method other than just their own vehicle to get here, not all of which are easy to achieve from some parts of the Garden State!
That being said, when our people put their passion behind something, it's going to get done. That's as much an answer to today's question as any of the initiatives we've presented.
Come to think of it, a passionate team is probably our best answer to almost any question or challenge!
Happy Earth Day, everyone. We encourage you to send any questions about our supply chain sustainability efforts to info@capacityllc.com.