Elevating Green, Lowering Costs

Elevating Green, Lowering Costs
The rising cost of oil is the most visible driver of growing interest in energy — but by no means the only one. Business owners of all kinds are paying more attention than ever to energy management for reasons that include escalating fuel and electricity prices, sustainability initiatives, carbon footprint reduction, and branding and public image.

In the 2011 Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI) survey from the Institute for Building Efficiency, 66 percent of commercial building executives and managers in the United States and Canada said energy management was extremely or very important to their organizations, up from 52 percent in 2010.

Closer to the material handling world, energy efficiency is a key component of a global movement toward greening the supply chain. While much of the focus in warehousing has been on actual building systems, lift trucks use substantial energy and provide significant opportunities for savings. Warehouse owners can reduce power usage by:

• Choosing trucks designed to use the least energy per pallet load moved
• Deploying the mix of truck models with features that best fits the application
• Creating warehouse layouts that minimize travel
• Optimizing battery performance and service life

Beyond cutting electricity consumption, owners benefit by using fewer lift trucks; buying, handling and recycling fewer batteries; and saving on labor costs.