Green Purchasing –Transportation
Part of the calculus for green purchasing is the consideration of the environmental impact of transportation of goods. The more miles a product needs to travel to reach your community, the greater impact its transportation has on our world.
Transportation and packaging costs are usually intertwined. As packaging is reduced in volume and weight, transportation costs go down. Many products, such as cleaning chemicals, can be purchased in concentrated form and diluted on site for use.
Purchasing through a cooperative or green purchasing network can not only reduce costs but also reduce transportation costs.
References
[1] Jones, C. M., & Kammen, D. M. (2011). Quantifying Carbon Footprint Reduction Opportunities for U.S. Households and Communities. Environmental Science & Technology, 45(9), 4088-4095.
[2] Ji, M.,et al. (2018). Logistics scheduling to minimize the sum of total weighted inventory cost and transport cost. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 120, 206-215.