Sustainability

Managing Consumption for Future Needs

There’s a lot of talk these days about the impact that we as individuals and businesses have on our environment. Hardly a moment passes without innumerable mentions of “Global Warming,” “Carbon Footprint,” and “Sustainability;” but what does it really mean?

Sustainability means that we are managing the consumption of resources to meet our needs in such a way that future generations will also have the resources required to meet their needs. As a consequence, we will be using resources more efficiently, or turning to resources that are renewable or sustainable. In turn, this would have a positive impact on our climate and the environment.

Energy Consumption
In looking at energy consumption as an example, presently we use resources that are not only nonrenewable; we also use them at an unsustainable rate. Without dramatic changes and development of sustainable resources, we will fail to leave future generations with the resources that they need to meet their energy requirements.

With respect to the National Logistics Group, our main consumption of energy comes from the fuel that we use for our delivery vehicles, and the fuels and electricity that we use to heat, cool and power our facilities.

Vehicles
For delivery vehicles, we have established the modest goal of achieving a 10% annual reduction in the amount of fuel consumed. This target can be achieved in a couple of ways.

Compact Vehicles
Whenever possible, compact vehicles are substituted for larger ones. This can
Reduce oil consumption by as much as 15 barrels of oil per year per vehicle, and Carbon Dioxide emissions by as much as 3 tons per year per vehicle assuming 30,000 miles/year.

Hybrid Vehicles
We have been adding compact hybrids and SUVs to our fleet. Compared to the typical mid sized vehicle, this reduce oil consumption by as much as 30 barrels/vehicle/year, and Carbon Dioxide emissions by as much as 6 tons/vehicle/year.

Heating and Cooling
Thermostat settings are controlled to no higher than 66°F during heating season, and no lower than 72°F during cooling season. Only authorized personnel are allowed access to programmable thermostats.

Office Lighting
Use of T8 Fluorescent in all of our offices instead of T12 reduces energy consumption for lighting by 40%.

In addition, many offices contain motion sensors. If no motion is detected for 30 minutes, the lights are automatically shut off. Lights are also turned off in offices that can be lit by daylight.

Computers and Servers
Besides being upgraded to the most energy efficient models when they are replaced, when not in use computers are put into Idle or Sleep Mode. Across our company, this saves between 70-130 barrels of oil energy equivalents, depending on mode

Materials and Waste
Materials are an often overlooked resource when it comes to sustainability, and perhaps the easiest to mange with significant impacts.

In an office environment, paper is by far the most commonly consumed material. While trees are in fact a renewable resource, it takes 30-40 years before they become large enough for paper making, and large tracks of land are wasted growing trees for this purpose.

As such, we used recycled paper for all of our printing and copier needs, and this paper is in turn recycled again.

Our marketing literature and stationery materials are also printed on recycled stocks.

We also do not allow the use of any paper or plastic cups, plates and utensils; and we use a water purification system instead of bottled water.

All other plastic and metal containers are also recycled.

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