Environmentally Friendly Supply Chains Start With Eco-Conscious Pallets

Most people believe change starts at the top. But when it comes to greening your supply chain, change really starts at the bottom -- with your choice of pallets. That's what Michael Smith, C.O.O. of PALNET, a nationwide supplier of environmentally-friendly wooden pallets, believes. And he should know, he's been in the pallet business for more than 20 years.

According to Smith, "One of the 'greenest' moves you can make is choosing wooden pallets made from the excess trim of the lumbering process. Instead of ending up in a landfill, these wooden pallets are continuously reclaimed, repaired, reused, and when no longer viable, end up as mulch. That's cradle-to-cradle at its best."

Plastic pallets are another story. "The new plastic pallet whose eco-claim is based on their recyclability," says Smith, "is really a baseless claim because it is well documented that plastic has a heavy environmental footprint. Anything based on a petro-chemical usually does." Smith believes eco-friendly wooden pallets are the perfect foundation for a green supply chain. "It's going green from the bottom up," Smith says.

Smith offers some additional tips for greening your supply chain:

• Rethink your packaging and your suppliers too. Double packaging is often unnecessary. It's wasteful ecologically and fiscally. Labels, paper, ink, bottles and boxes all have green alternatives.
• Think about hybrids next time you have to replace a vehicle.
• Tele-conference when you can. With a webcam you can have a face-to-face without moving from place to place.
• Allow your employees to telecommute a portion of their work week.
• Get your trucks to stop idling whenever possible.
• In your office, use nontoxic cleaning products and get rid of flooring that off-gasses harmful VOC's (volatile organic compounds) into your work space air.

According to Smith, "Green thinking is smart thinking. More and more, all of us are realizing that smart environmental practices are smart business practices which result in real savings, not to mention a smart sales pitch." Smith adds, "Now, you can make a sales call and say 'We're so green, even our pallets are green.'"