The Inovis Blog

With the start of the New Year, many of us embrace the opportunity for change and look for ways to make this year better than the last and Meg’s post got me thinking. One of the emerging trends in technology is identifying ways to improve your organization’s impact on the environment. A great deal of effort is put on effectively managing your IT infrastructure with new capabilities such as virtualization, strategies around capacity planning and IT recycling strategies. Green opportunities not only exist in the operations of your IT infrastructures, but in your operational processes, material selections and sourcing requirements within the supply chain.

Much of the initial focus on greening the supply chain has been around the type of materials used in the manufacturing process and many retailers and manufacturers continue to make significant strides in the footprint their products and processes leave on the environment. Many of the activities around corporate social responsibility are driven not just by consumers, but also by the individual employees who look to change the way their company does business as well—such as the efforts at REI.

We’re working with vendors and suppliers to move the conversation… ultimately, we think that working with other brands to send a common signal to the supply chain will be an important part of progress.
Supply chain activities are consistent themes throughout many green initiatives. The growing requirements to remain competitive in a global marketplace are extending supply chains, introducing new opportunities to design your supply network and lessening the impact on the environment around transportation optimization and process automation.

Where’s your Transportation Plan?

With the increased transportation requirements of fulfillment from other continents, many organizations are examining their transportation networks for green improvements. With the rising fuel costs and the emissions, this not only represents a quick win through effective routing for the environment, but also for the environment. Home Depot sees transportation as a key greening opportunity:

It definitely would be finding something that lessens the transportation impact. Something that does not rely on fossil fuels. That is our biggest impact. If you look at our carbon footprint across the world, it is the reliance on fossil fuels for transportation.” – Ron Jarvis, Home Depot

Where’s the Paper?

Greening the supply chain is not only about process improvements, sourcing models and distribution networks, but it even drives down to how YOU can help reduce the paper consumption in your business. I know many of my colleagues at Inovis rarely print documents. The wonders of laptops and electronic documents have made it possible to avoid—at most turns—the requirement to print. That being said, there are always opportunities for improvement, automation and better ways to exchange information within every business. IT World has even started an annual award called the Green 15, which includes acknowledging innovative ways to reduce paper.

As you look throughout your enterprise, are there paper laden processes which can be automated and, in doing so, can eliminate paper usage? Are there more partners to be enabled?
Follow the paper trail and find the green…