Corporate Social Responsibility is not something we take lightly at Fulfillment.com (FDC). In fact, it is our daily commitment to show our employees and community that we are conscious of our carbon footprint and carefully consider the environmental impact of everything we do as well as every package we ship. FDC’s warehouses utilize a wide variety of eco-friendly packaging to provide the best choice for optimizing space and packaging materials on each product shipped, whether it be shipped in a corrugated box or bubble mailer envelope. Our employees balance the work of fulfilling orders for customers all over the world, with the careful selection of delivery methods that best reflect our company-wide green initiatives.

Our innovative order grouping technology identifies multiple orders shipping to the same customer and address and combines them into one order, further reducing unnecessary packaging, shipments, fossil fuel usage, etc. This also helps cut down on any extraneous packing fill, helping reduce our carbon foot print. FDC’s system links our network of global warehouses and its intuitive programming automatically pairs a customer’s order with the best warehouse location of your inventory, saving shipping costs and the subsequent gas usage costs that would have been required.

FDC’s Commitment to Sustainable Packaging Materials

There are three product types comprising the Global Green (Sustainable) Packaging market: Recycled, Reusable, and Degradable. Wherever possible, Fulfillment.com works with its suppliers and vendors to source our packaging so that it meets at least one, if not all three, of these description types. To wit, all product boxes that Fulfillment.com uses are 100% recyclable, as are all of the bubble wrap rolls we utilize to protect outgoing order shipments. Even the boxes we use internally within our warehouses for product storage are recyclable—they are crushed and bundled on a regular basis for offsite dispersal. Our bubble wrap envelopes of all sizes are\ 100% recyclable and biodegradable and when we purchase these mailers they are packed in a way that reduces the diesel fuel from two trucks to one, with a similar decrease in offset carbon that would otherwise have been released by an additional truck. Another product shipping option provided by Fulfillment.com is Kraft mailing tubes, which are made of 100% recycled material and are also recyclable. Finally, the fill we include to cushion and pad product shipments is made of 100% recycled material and is fully recyclable. If you have specific sustainable packaging that you are currently using and would like Fulfillment.com to offer, contact us today to make an inquiry.

Additional Ways that Fulfillment.com is an Eco-Friendly Company

Fulfillment.com consistently reviews and audits our practices for areas of improvement. Many meetings are held via Skype or other inter-active methods rather than with lengthy, printed agendas and supporting documentation. Once hired on to the Fulfillment.com team, applicants for employment are encouraged to complete and submit as much paperwork as possible online to reduce the amount of copies printed and wasted, as well as the power required to print them. Speaking of printing, all of our printer cartridges are recycled through Toshiba’s Close the Loop program. They are cleaned and reused to avoid ending up in the landfills. With the amount of shipping labels Fulfillment.com prints on a daily basis, it adds up to a lot of ink cartridges that get refurbished for a second life!

Even FDC’s powerful technology utilizes “green” practices through load-balancing techniques to minimize energy consumption spikes. Our servers are designed to scale with API request loads, bringing more servers online during peaks and scaling back active servers during dips. After considerable research, Fulfillment.com eliminated its outdated landline phone system with a more eco-friendly VoIP system. The new system is a more cost-effective, efficient way to communicate and reduces the energy expenditures needed to maintain and power traditional landlines. As a company with a solid technology base, we felt moving our communication needs in this direction allows us to better lead by example. The call forwarding feature of our phone system affords team members who are traveling or out of the office to still be easily accessible. The minimal wiring for VoIP systems, as compared to the underground landlines liable to leech industrial-grade materials and chemicals into the surrounding soil, is perhaps the most compelling reason we switched to a VoIP phone system.

From a staff perspective, we encourage employee suggestions for additional opportunities to reduce/reuse/recycle. For example, our employee break room uses a filtration system attached to our water lines, eliminating the use of bottled water services. Fulfillment.com provides a monthly employee appreciation lunch, boosting productivity and helping reduce the number of staff leaving the site at the same time to eat. The majority of our office staff utilize the MacBook Pro for their daily work. These products are designed to be more energy efficient by incorporating features like an efficient power supply to maximize electricity input/output for use and charging; advanced power management via energy efficient LED-backlit displays; task balancing between central and graphics processors; and an OS that conserves power whenever possible; and EPA’s Energy Star 6.0 qualifications.

Green Packaging Materials Utilized by FDC

Unlike many of our competitors, who use non-recyclable bubble mailers, the majority of FDC’s orders are shipped in 100% recyclable poly bubble mailers. The durable and moisture-resistant qualities that this innovative, protective packaging provides is evidenced by its resistance to punctures and tears and high-cushioning characteristics. The use of environmentally-friendly packaging materials is not simply a bandwagon that Fulfillment.com has jumped on, but rather a lasting commitment to do what we can, wherever and whenever we can, to provide a better world for future generations. Our customers enjoy knowing they are being environmentally-friendly without any additional effort on their part or cost to them. Our shipping department is always on the lookout for more packaging options to make available for our clients. Thanks to the large volumes of orders we ship, most vendors and suppliers are more than happy to keep us abreast of the latest industry innovations in sustainability. If you are interested in exploring more green packaging options for your products, we are happy to help!

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