Supply Chain Sustainability: It Comes Down to the Data

Simon Angove, SupplyChainBrain.com, May 23, 2024

When it comes to environmental impact, the supply chain has a visibility problem — and not just between external partners.

Data sharing around sustainability initiatives between manufacturers, distributors and businesses within their ecosystems continues to be a struggle. A Deloitte study found that only 13% of companies can map their entire supply chain, and nearly three-quarters can’t see beyond their primary suppliers. That means supply chains miss plenty of opportunities to reduce empty miles and improve resource conservation.

But we don’t talk enough about what happens with this data once it’s shared. Research by Standard & Poor’s revealed that one in four companies manage more than 50 data silos, preventing R&D, sales, marketing, finance and distribution — among other departments — from seeing the same data at the same time to work collaboratively. When only R&D has access to information about how much plastic is used in manufacturing and shipping, finance can’t make accurate decisions about how to adjust spending on the resource. Distribution doesn’t have the data needed to fix operations to reduce waste, and so on. Bottom line: Communication must be improved both inside and outside the organization.

With more countries introducing regulations to combat climate change, supply chains need to be more proactive. And supply chains need to prepare to address growing sustainability issues and accurately report on their efforts.

Getting Data in Order

Before supply chains can implement effective sustainability initiatives, all participants need to be on the same page regarding data. Sources such as customer, product and location data must be visible across departments, as well as continually cleaned and up to date. Maintaining inconsistent data sets throughout the organization is a great way to sabotage collaboration.

To access the full article, click here. 

To learn about the carbon neutral strategies that contribute to Onepak’s sustainability data, visit our Carbon Neutral Page.

Why Now is an Excellent Time to Switch to Sustainable Logistics Practice

Tom Moore, GlobalTradeMag.com, May 31, 2024

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. The same is true about moving to sustainable logistics practices—also called sustainable supply-chain practices.

As a grandfather with four grandchildren, I want to leave a world with green grass and a moderate climate, so I will not debate the benefits of sustainability. After all, who wants to be unsustainable? This article outlines:

• What are sustainable practices
• What sustainable practices are not just good for the environment but also the bottom line
• How to move towards sustainability in logistics

Sustainable Logistics Practices

When you do a ChatGPT-based search, the following practices are identified as sustainable:

• Optimize travel routes: Minimize unnecessary travel and waiting times to reduce fuel consumption.
• Use renewable energy or technology: Review the potential to incorporate more green or renewable energy or technologies into your logistics strategy.
• Avoid wasted energy on partial capacity: Minimize waste space and energy by ensuring your containers and transport are packed to maximum capacity.
• Make packaging sustainable: Introduce recyclable or sustainable packaging into your logistics strategy. And don’t let the Amazon boxes pile up in the trash.
• Use integrated logistics: Align your supply chain across all departments to maximize efficiency.
• Implement greener transport options: Where possible, consider greener alternatives to your transport. While compressed natural Gas (CNG), “green” hydrogen, or electric-powered vehicles may be the rage, consider shifting modes to lower-carbon technologies like rail, barge, or sea.

What sustainable practices are not just good for the environment but also the bottom line

At this point, the list becomes shorter. Many options can be eliminated as too expensive or too impractical. For example, green hydrogen, produced by electrolysis rather than taking a fossil fuel like natural gas and breaking it into its components well, has significant potential but is not a low-cost option today. In the same matter, electric trucks are not practical for heavy-weight shipments or long-distance moves. They won’t be until batteries become lighter and a nationwide charging infrastructure exists.

To access the full article, click here. 

Learn about Onepak’s commitment to building the circular economy.

Onepak Recognized as a Green Supply Chain Partner by the Inbound Logistics Team

Onepak Recognized as a Green Supply Chain Partner by the Inbound Logistics Team

Onepak has once again been honored with membership in the prestigious G75 Green Supply Chain Partners List for 2024. This recognition places Onepak among the top 75 companies globally that are leading the way in sustainable supply chain management and logistics.

Significance of the Award

The Green 75 (G75) award, presented annually by Inbound Logistics, highlights companies that have shown a steadfast commitment to sustainability. This year’s honorees span a range of sectors within the logistics industry, including third-party logistics providers (3PLs), air cargo carriers, technology-focused platforms, and trucking companies. These 75 companies have been identified by Inbound Logistics editors for their exemplary efforts in integrating sustainability into their operations.

Receiving this award underscores Onepak’s ongoing commitment to innovation and the implementation of solutions that contribute to environmental sustainability.

Onepak’s Sustainability Commitment

Onepak has embedded sustainability deeply into its mission and operations. These initiatives reflect a comprehensive approach to reducing environmental impact and fostering sustainable practices:

• Carbon-Neutral Logistics: Calculates and offsets emissions to provide clients with carbon-neutral reverse logistics, with documented proof.
• ReturnCenter Platform: Manages IT asset recovery and integrates with ServiceNow to provide data on environmental impact and circularity.
• Circular Economy Initiatives: Optimizes routing schedules and uses 100% recyclable packaging with at least 40% post-consumer waste to prevent landfill dumping.
• E-Waste Recycling: Collected nearly 2 billion pounds of e-waste, transporting it to R2-certified facilities for responsible recycling.
• Energy Efficiency: Onepak optimizes its operations to conserve energy and leverages renewable energy sources whenever possible.
• Community Engagement: Onepak actively collaborates with partners, customers, and communities to promote sustainable practices and raise awareness.

Looking Forward

Being named a Green Supply Chain Partner for 2024 serves as a significant milestone for Onepak, encouraging the company to continue their sustainability efforts with even greater determination.

The June edition of Inbound Logistics will feature a special G75 section, profiling Onepak and other leading companies dedicated to green supply chain management. Onepak extends gratitude to the Inbound Logistics team for this honor and acknowledges the support of their dedicated team, partners, and customers. Together, they are making strides towards a more sustainable future.

Onepak invites everyone to join their sustainability journey. For regular updates on their green initiatives and tips on contributing to a sustainable future, follow Onepak on LinkedIn, or contact us.

Balancing Act: The Dual Influence of AI on Data Center Power and Sustainability

Sandra MacGregor, DataCenterKnowledge.com, March 19, 2024

Data centers face escalating challenges in managing power and improving energy efficiently. The surge in AI-driven workloads has intensified the strain on data center resources, exacerbating concerns about energy consumption and environmental sustainability. In fact, in a January 2024 report, the International Energy Agency forecasted that data centers globally may more than double their electrical consumption by 2026.

The fundamental shift that AI will play in data centers can’t be overstated. The 2024 AFCOM State of the Data Center Report notes that: “Artificial intelligence is a significant driver in how we will be building facilities moving forward. Simply put, every data center will become an AI data center… This change happened so fast that many hardly noticed. But this change is here, and it will impact your facilities.”

Ali Fenn, the president of Lancium and keynote speaker at the forthcoming Data Center World 2024, harbors a profound optimism for the role of AI in revolutionizing the data center industry, while also recognizing the formidable challenges that must be navigated on the path to progress. “AI has for many years been driving efficiency gains via such things as forecasting load shapes, weather, corresponding cooling demand… and tuning workloads and MEP systems to advance both cost and climate goals,” explains Fenn, who was recently featured in the New York Times.

“I think the next phase is not just run time process efficiency, but also the fact that AI is now helping to enable more fundamental breakthroughs, such as via the discovery of new materials that may, in turn, catalyze innovation in battery technology, hence energy storage and the acceleration of greater renewable energy.”

Fenn goes on to note that one of the most significant opportunities for AI in the data center industry lies at the intersection of data centers and the grid. “The rapid growth of data center demand and the emergence of large-scale, gigawatt-scale data centers presents new challenges for grid operators,” explains Fenn. “At Lancium, we focus on developing AI-driven power orchestration and optimization technology to provide grid reliability and ensure workload reliability for both data centers and their customers, with SLAs that prioritize both reliability and carbon-free energy.”

To access the full article click here.

Find out how Onepak is helping companies meet their sustainability goals.

5 critical actions to establish inclusive, collaborative and sustainable circular value chains

Tommy Tjiptadjaja, Maxime François-Ferrière, WEForum.org, May 29, 2024

Transitioning linear businesses into circular ones is an urgent step towards a flourishing society and a sustainable planet. In many forums—from the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, to local interest groups—words like “sustainable” and “collaboration” are commonly discussed.

IT Sustainability Think Tank: Helping CIOs and IT directors navigate the green IT landscape

Shane Herath, ComputerWeekly.com, May 17, 2024

In the contemporary landscape of corporate responsibility, environmental sustainability has become a vital concern. With enterprises facing increasing regulatory pressure to record and mitigate their carbon emissions, energy usage, and overall sustainability practices, CIOs and IT departments find themselves at the forefront of this paradigm shift.

As stewards of digital infrastructure and data management, CIOs and IT directors play a pivotal role in ensuring that organisations not only meet compliance standards but also embrace meaningful sustainable practices.

This article delves into the necessary steps CIOs and IT departments must take to attain a comprehensive and accurate view of their environmental impact while navigating the evolving regulatory landscape.

Understanding the regulatory landscape

The regulatory frameworks governing carbon emissions and sustainability are evolving rapidly in response to global efforts to combat climate change. It is imperative that enterprises stay abreast of these changes to ensure compliance and mitigate associated risks.

CIOs and IT directors play a pivotal role in this regard, necessitating them to allocate resources towards monitoring regulatory developments, assessing their implications on organisational practices, and implementing necessary adjustments in IT strategy, infrastructure, and operations. Furthermore, with heightened demands for comprehensive data on carbon emissions and sustainability practices, CIOs and IT directors must ensure thorough data collection not only within their own operations but also throughout their supply chains.

To access the full article, click here.

To learn more about Onepak’s contribution to the green IT landscape, visit our sustainability page.

Circular supply chains: 9 focus areas to maximize impact

Building circular supply chains can break the link between resource consumption and revenue generation.

Sarah Benton, GreenBiz.com, April 2, 2024

To say supply chains are complex is an understatement. Rarely do we make products out of just one raw material or in just one place. Every product is the sum of its parts. Even something as simple as a cotton T-shirt takes many steps along its journey. From production to shipping to sales to consumer use and end of life — current supply chains are fundamentally linear.

But there’s an alternative journey the humble T-shirt — or virtually any product, for that matter — can travel along. And it’s not linear. It’s circular.

Supply chains are often overlooked in discussions about the circular economy, overshadowed by business models or product design. But behind the scenes, supply chain professionals are responsible for the sourcing, movement and transformation of the 100 billion metric tons of materials that enter the global economy every year.

In many businesses, supply chain leaders are spearheading the search for resilience. Global shocks, from COVID-19 to extreme weather events, are exposing the vulnerabilities of existing supply chains. As finite materials become scarcer and their prices more volatile, companies can expect to lose almost half a year’s profit to supply chain disruptions over the next decade if they continue along this linear path. At the same time, Scope 3 emissions can be more than 80 percent of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for a typical consumer goods company.

Circular supply chains can be leveraged to break the link between resource consumption and revenue generation. In doing so, businesses can increase material security and availability, reduce exposure to price volatility, meet climate and nature goals, and gain sought-after long-term resilience.

Building circular supply chains is no easy task, and it’s hard to know where to start. We’ve identified nine target areas where you can exert the greatest impact for the biggest gain.

1. People and structure

Transforming how a system works is a job in itself. It’s difficult to find the time and gain the knowledge required to implement circular processes and technologies. But transformation is possible if it happens at an organizational level, as HP is doing.

To access the full article, click here

Lean more about Onepak’s commitment to the global circular economy

Why sustainability reporting standards must be simple, consistent and transparent

Demonstrative sustainability, which can be easily tracked and assessed for clarity, is key for the alignment of business success and ESG initiatives.

GlobalData Thematic Intelligence, Verdict.co.uk, May 10, 2024

Sustainability reporting standards help set the strategic imperatives surrounding ESG that companies must follow.

Initiatives surrounding sustainability reporting must continue to evolve to holistically encompass the sustainability of a company, no matter the industry or sector.

On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) announced that it was researching disclosure standards concerning the opportunities and risks relating to biodiversity, ecosystems, ecosystem services, and human capital.

The research is designed to enhance more specific disclosures relating to a company’s credentials in these factors, thus providing investors and the public with better information on how companies approach and act on these values. Given the less-than-ideal ‘connection’ between ESG and the anti-woke movement globally, increasingly extensive sustainability reporting is in a difficult position.

In 2023 there was a significant increase in ESG pushback in the US, with several states rejecting management of state retirement assets from financial service providers with notable ESG considerations, including BlackRock and Vanguard.

In October 2023, the European Parliament fortunately rejected a proposal to scrap the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).  Circumvention, avoidance, and absent data quality are all strategies companies have deployed to minimise the extent to which they publish data relating to the sustainability of their operations. By weakening political commitments and undermining reporting standards relating to ESG, companies are also able to reduce commitments to sustainability.

Sustainability reporting can be ‘choosey’

Picking the right standard can be difficult and many companies use this choice to obscure or highlight poor or positive performances in ESG factors. To access the full article, click here.

To learn more about Onepak and our commitment to the circular global economy, visit our sustainability page.

Rethinking AI In The Context Of Sustainability

Guy Courtin, Forbes.com, February 28, 2024

Large language models (LLMs), natural language processing (NLP), machine learning (ML), cognitive AI and a litany of other “hot” artificial intelligence technologies have flooded our discussions since early 2023. From media coverage to overzealous CEOs, the message ringing in our ears is clear—get on the AI train or be left behind.

From helping solve your supply chain planning problems and enhancing customer service to improving patient care, determining better product mixes and reducing the number of HR memos, AI has been bellowed from the rooftops as the next elixir to all our ills. There’s no doubt that AI holds great opportunities for businesses and society but at what cost? And how does it impact another hot topic—sustainability?

A Hidden Conflict?

How soon we forget. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) responsibility—or sustainability—was once the subject of every headline. It was deemed a vital business driver and commanded above-the-fold ink not that long ago. However, being more sustainable remains an elusive target. Companies across all industries are striving to better understand, control and reach sustainable levels. Providing more transparency and reporting on ESG will soon become a requirement for publicly traded companies.

Is there a conflict between these two trends? Potentially. By some accounts, the environmental footprint needed to train OpenAI’s GPT-3 was the equivalent of “driving a car to the moon and back”—480,000 miles—and evaporating 700,000 liters of freshwater. Amplify that by the number of queries that are being pumped through LLMs like ChatGPT and the necessary computation power needed and the ecological toll becomes clear. However, there’s a fine line that companies can walk to leverage AI and still uphold their ESG commitments. Here’s what companies need to consider when it comes to ensuring AI efforts don’t conflict with ESG goals.

To access the full article, click here. 

Onepak’s Sustainability Initiatives

Connectivity as a right: ending the digital divide and digital poverty

Neil C. Hughes, CyberNews.com, April 2, 2024

The digital divide represents an expanding disparity between individuals with access to online resources and those without access. This phenomenon is pervasive and affects various regions globally.

In the UK, nearly half of all families find themselves outside the reach of modern digital society. At the same time, internet providers’ neglect in the US has resulted in rural communities being significantly underserved. This issue underscores a critical challenge in ensuring equitable access to digital infrastructure and services.

However, this divide spans more than just geographical lines, distinguishing between developed and developing nations and urban and rural locales. It also cuts deep through societal strata, affecting diverse groups based on age, education, and gender.
The effects of the great digital divide are profound and widespread, not just on paper but in the real lives of countless individuals. It can intensify feelings of isolation and limit the opportunities available to many. It can even hinder a family’s ability to get crucial healthcare, chase educational goals, or keep their mental health in check. It’s a stark reminder of the tech’s impact on society and the urgent need to address such gaps.

From connectivity to opportunity: eradicating digital poverty

Digital poverty is more than just being unable to afford a decent internet connection. It’s also about having the right equipment and knowledge to navigate today’s digital jungle. To some, the digital age can feel like a parallel universe where opportunities for learning, working, and staying healthy seem out of reach. This is where the stark reality of digital poverty hits home, making it an issue far beyond being online or offline.
Now, throw AI into the mix. AI is revolutionizing education, promising personalized learning paths and innovative educational tools. But here’s the catch: its benefits are only as good as people’s access. If we don’t bridge this digital divide, AI might be another hurdle for those already lagging, making the leap from digital poverty to digital empowerment even harder.

To access the full article, click here.

Learn more about Onepak’s pledge to help end the digital divide