Global Logistics For Dummies

Chapter 7

“Greening ” Your Manufacturing Line

IN THIS CHAPTER

Being environmentally friendly

Creating an end-to-end green capability

Using green logistics best practices

Every aspect of manufacturing, stocking, and distributing your products has environmental implications. What are they and how do you go about addressing them? At a minimum, you’ll need to comply with your host country’s legal requirements. At a maximum, you may need to comply with laws and restrictions at every link in your — and perhaps your suppliers’ — supply and distribution chains. The trend in manufacturing, however, is to go beyond compliance. Once considered a good idea that was only embraced by proverbial “tree huggers,” green manufacturing increasingly is accepted as a prerequisite for competing successfully in the global marketplace.

Green manufacturing includes both the manufacturing of green products and the “greening” of the manufacturing life cycle. Many companies pursue both through a multi-year greening strategy. Whether you engage in one or both, you will be conserving natural resources, reducing pollutant emissions and discharges, preventing spills of hazardous substances, and minimizing waste generation. ...