Climate change is causing dangerous environmental extremes every year. If nothing is done, these extremes will continue to put life on our planet at risk.

One significant risk is to food production and storage. As highlighted in a recent SSI SCHAEFER awareness campaign, the UN predicts that in the next 30 years 80% of the population will live in cities and we will need the equivalent of 2 extra planets to sustain food production.

Climate change is happening due to human activity and SSI SCHAEFER recognises that business has a major part to play in its reduction. For this reason, SSI SCHAEFER has joined the 50 Sustainability & Climate Leaders initiative to raise awareness for sustainable, economical, and future proofing in the materials handling industry.

The 50 Sustainability & Climate Leaders initiative is the response from the international business community, which demonstrates the desire, the drive, and the ability to take effective action in the fight against climate change and to meet the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG).

Materials handling is a component of almost all supply chains across the world, so it is logical that this should be a major focus for sustainability initiatives. SSI SCHAEFER has a global presence that caters for businesses of various sizes, which makes us the ideal partner in implementing projects where sustainability is a focus.

“As one of the leading global providers of material handling solutions, we are an ideal partner for companies that pursue economical, future-oriented, and sustainable goals,” says Steffen Bersch, CEO of SSI SCHAEFER Group. “We have a broad portfolio of innovative products and solutions, which we combine together for the specific needs of each customer.”

Some examples of SSI SCHAEFER’s sustainability initiatives are:

• Energy efficiency as well as environmentally friendly operations of warehouses and material flows
• Ecological construction methods
• Short supply chains
• Predictive and remote maintenance
• Healthy working conditions and a cleaner atmosphere
• Less waste and carbon footprint reduction

So, how can sustainable, economical, and future proofing in materials handling benefit Cold Chain?

ORCA Cold Chain Solutions has noted that in industry, 37% of all food manufactured globally is lost due to poor packaging, poor storage, and poor handling. This gives some understanding as to how important sustainability is in this sector.

SSI SCHAEFER partnered with ORCA Cold Chain Solutions to address their sustainability initiatives including:

• An integrated solution
• Electricity costs reduced by 35%
• Human intervention was heavily reduced, which also limited risk of COVID-19 exposure
• Limited human exposure and automation ensured 100% traceability of goods

SSI SCHAEFER has successfully implemented both automated and semi-automated pallet storage solutions in cold store applications across the globe, and they have proven to benefit end users not only in achieving effective materials handling and storage, but also in their goals to be sustainable, economical, and future proofed.

“Sustainability is a continual discussion in the UK cold chain market, and it is important awareness around the topic is on-going. SSI SCHAEFER UK is well established in this sector, so it makes sense for us to champion these initiatives with our customers as we have done in our previous projects,” says Chris More, UK Dynamic Systems manager.