Page 53 - Plastics News Issue October 2025
P. 53
FEATURE NEWS
Toward Greener Supply Chains: Sustainability Raw material spills and contaminations are cost-
Innovations in Logistics ly: processors lose revenue, risk disappointing
customers and losing future business, and face
Two key trends are emerging in supply chain expensive compliance fines and clean-ups.
sustainability: reducing fuel usage and wasteful
packaging. IoT and GPS are vital for both. Implementing tracking technology and data
analytics helps monitor handling and packaging
Transportation accounts for about 30% of glob- practices so that materials are transported safe-
al energy consumption which is why so many ly and sustainably throughout the supply chain.
countries and industries are now placing pres-
sure on businesses to cut back their emissions. Shipments that are monitored more closely are
Tracking routing with GPS and using a TMS can more likely to arrive at their destination damage-
help decrease excess fuel spend significantly. It’s free, and the data collected along the way can
as beneficial to processors’ budgets as they are be used later to inform optimization strategies
to sustainability commitments. and other improvement plans. By viewing safety
and sustainability as part of overall efficiency,
IoT can also be used to track packaging and en- businesses can not only improve current opera-
sure that processors get their reusable packag- tions but also better prepare for a more compli-
ing back at the end of a delivery, which reduces ance-heavy future.
waste and saves money. “Going green” is not
only good for the environment, it can also posi- Source – Plastics Technology
tively impact profitability.
Conclusion: Ensuring Safe, Efficient, and
Sustainable Material Flow
October 2025 PLASTICS NEWS 53
