When we look out across the business landscape today, we can see a number of things looming that might make profitability difficult. A contracting economy is right up top as a primary concern, and that makes every new decision increasingly important. A wrong step is magnified when times are tough.
So what are we to make of "Green Business"? It's a concept bouncing around the media and the internet that purports to improve the efficiency of workplace operations while minimizing the impact of productivity on the local (and some say "global") environment. You will see the term "sustainability" used a lot. Perhaps overused.
Clearly it's a high-profile movement among those of environmentalist stripe, but our federal and state governments are starting to use the same "Going Green" language too. When the government gets a new idea, sure, many are cautious: it invariably costs business people money. In the past, heavy-handed regulation has crushed many businesses and cost many jobs - and more regulation is indeed coming down the road.
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Businesses on a new bandwagon
As long as improved efficiency is at the core of Green Business and Green Manufacturing, these concepts have a shot at being compatible with productivity and profitability. A shot that several major players in the material handling industry think might be worth taking. There's a public relations angle too: The news media has made "green" an attractive characteristic worthy of mention. There is recognition potential.
Case in point: One of the world's largest motive technology companies, Toyota, is working hard to expand its acknowledged green automotive credentials - in the direction of new material handling products. Recently Toyota Material Handling USA Inc. (TMHU) and AeroVironment, Inc. (AV) formed an alliance to co-market a "more environmentally friendly" approach to warehouse lift truck fleet operations. They are promoting an advanced lift truck and charger package featuring the PosiCharge fast charger that eliminates the need to maintain spare batteries for multi-shift operation. The batteries, only one needed per lift truck, are fast-charged while in the truck - doing away with battery change-out, and the equipment, labor, and floor space that had been required to handle spare batteries.
WhiteWave Foods, a producer of organic foods and beverages, saw the Toyota/AeroVironment approach as an environmental/efficiency boost; a good fit with the company's operating philosophy. Their City of Industry, California distribution center now operates 28 Toyota lift trucks and 25 PosiCharge completely automated fast chargers - eliminating at least 28 extra batteries that would have been needed under a conventional multi-shift charging scheme. To learn more on this alliance click here.
Yale Materials Handling Corp. has put forth a particularly strong public position on going green. All Yale trucks are manufactured in plants meeting ISO 14000 environmental standards. The company philosophy, as stated on their website, now directs them to "identify opportunities that could help lead all of us to a more sustainable future" which, they say "opens up a world of business opportunities for forward thinking companies."
"...We are improving efficiency and reducing waste in our own operations. We are developing and producing more efficient lift trucks that reduce energy consumption ... and in 2009 we are rolling out a new generation of our most innovative and efficient trucks ever. We are collaborating on next generation energy technology to enable a broader group of customers to more easily switch from internal combustion engine trucks to zero emission electric trucks. This same technology will ultimately enable the electrification of automobiles and reduce our dependence upon oil.
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