Viewpoint: Green in action
Michael A. Levans, Group Editorial Director -- Logistics Management, 4/1/2009
We broke the mold with this month's cover story; and quite frankly, I couldn't be more pleased.
Instead of being inundated with more theory on why you should consider "greening" your logistics and transportation operations, this month you're going to learn from a major player that has actually implemented green best practices and is measuring the overwhelming benefits to its logistics operation, as well as its overall fiscal health—to great applause from the corner office I might add.
To deliver this more effectively, we asked this company to tell the tale of its green journey in its own words and actually define what the buzz words mean. What we find, starting on page 22, is one part "how-to" one part "case study" where the practitioner pulled its partners together to script what is the most insightful, "usable" story on green logistics that I've read to date.
What I like most about what's materialized is that Subway, of the now renowned "$5 footlong," shares its first-hand experience from concept, to reality, to benefit, to future planning, and pulls no punches along the way. Elizabeth Stewart, the company's sustainability director, along with IPC, its franchisee-owned purchasing cooperative, and Chainalytics, its green consulting partner, walk shippers through the process step by step, sharing their ground-level view of the challenges of going green and the subsequent solutions.
In turn, readers can feel the pain, but they also gain Subway's first-hand advice on overcoming the issues on the way to putting up some impressive numbers. What does reducing your carbon footprint actually entail? What's inventory's role? What is the overarching benefit of going green? If these questions have ever crossed your mind, you're about to get one step closer to answering them. What I think you'll find is a simple equation: Green = smart business.
Reducing your carbon footprint: Shippers are finding that their travel budgets have been slashed, keeping them away from important in-person continuing education events. With this in mind, Logistics Management is adding to its stable of virtual events with the launch of its 2009 Warehouse/DC Best Practices Virtual Conference which will go live on Thursday, April 30th.
This event is a slight departure from the regular LM webcasts many of you already attend. This conference will feature five educational sessions, but will also have live chat, active movement in and out of exhibit booths, along with additional collateral resource centers and online learning. Go register at logisticsmgmt.com/warehousevc. At press time, over 750 readers already had.
Comments? E-mail me at michael.levans@reedbusiness.com
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