How Self-Storage Helps to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

According to respected news outlets, including CNN and Scientific American, July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded on earth and the hottest in 120,000 years. Climate change is getting harder and harder to ignore.

Our modern lifestyles—how we work, travel, and live—and our dependence on burning oil, coal, and gas to fuel our lives—not to mention our commitment to deforestation to, amongst other reasons, meet domestic fuel needs or create great swaths of land for urbanisation—have seen our collective carbon footprint grow and grow since the Industrial Revolution.

It’s becoming clear that we all need to do our part to reduce our carbon footprints.

The good news is that individuals and businesses are starting to take notice. Electric cars have accelerated into the mainstream. Businesses are investing in Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to clarify their carbon usage and, when driving across specific London boroughs, vehicles that don’t meet ULEZ standards must pay a £12.50 daily charge.

The commitment to reducing our carbon footprint transcends all areas of our lives. Most of us know that there are several things that we can all do, both at work and at home, to help safeguard our environment. But what most people don’t immediately realise is that self-storage helps reduce their carbon footprint.

Embracing self-storage

A quick Google search, and you’ll discover that self-storage is one of the sturdiest UK sectors. Don’t believe us? The sector is expected to exceed $1 billion in annual turnover in 2023.

COVID-19 turbo-charged the self-storage sector, with homes and businesses turning to the sector to help meet their evolving demands. In 2023, the sector will continue to be embraced by individuals and businesses across the UK.

There are many reasons for this. From moving home to storing excess business stock or even keeping your son or daughter’s belongings safe and sound while they’re at university, there are several diverse reasons why self-storage is essential.

But one reason that’s sparingly mentioned, and perhaps it should be, is that self-storage helps people and businesses be more sustainable.

Minimal environmental impact

Whereas very few, if any, commercial premises—and certainly industrial facilities—can claim that their carbon footprint is anything but significant, in comparison, self-storage facilities do not contribute as much to carbon pollution as you might initially think.

For starters, self-storage facilities tend to be more energy efficient than comparable storage options. While some offer climate-controlled storage, compared to other leading solutions, you can rest assured that self-storage minimises the carbon footprint and therefore any environmental impact.

Let’s explore how self-storage facilities help to minimise your personal or organization’s carbon footprint.

Conveniently located

Most self-storage facilities are conveniently scattered across the UK. This means that people driving gasoline or diesel cars do not have to travel too far to and from their unit.

The result? Less carbon dioxide is pumped into the atmosphere. This proximity reduced both fuel consumption and the noxious gases from gasoline and diesel cars.

Climate control doesn’t mean heated

Very few self-storage facilities are heated. Why? There isn’t a wholesale need for heated units. However, if you intend to use your self-storage unit to store electronics, musical instruments, wooden furniture, or any other items particularly susceptible to damage in an arctic winter, you can always ask what temperature the items are stored at.

Conversely, many self-storage units prove to be the ideal environment to store a breadth of items, from organisational inventory to seasonal decorations.

Remember, too, that this lack of heating means that self-storage units will not affect the climate and hence increase a person’s or organisation’s carbon footprint.

The circular economy

In today’s modern world, promoting a circular economy (or encouraging the reuse of varied item descriptions while minimising waste to maximise resources) is more important than ever. Both organisations and households have a vital role to play in ensuring the integrity of the circular economy.

How does self-storage contribute to the circular economy? Simple. By offering individuals and businesses the opportunity to store and reuse surplus belongings and stock, self-storage discourages new purchases while reducing waste.

Moreover, self-storage facilities support the sharing economy, which is another core component of the circular economy. This socio-economic system focuses on the sharing of assets or services between two parties—both individuals and organisations. Perhaps the most obvious example of this is the property rental market, where a homeowner rents a house or apartment to tenants.

The sharing economy makes it easy for people and businesses of all descriptions to offer peer-to-peer lending, saving consumers money and resources while helping to reduce an individual’s or organisation’s carbon footprint.

Self-storage provides a dedicated space for organisations to store items available for lease, making it a vital part of the infrastructure support network.

Supporting sustainable organisational objectives

To thrive in today’s modern working economy, SMEs and blue-chip organisations need to meet specific sustainability objectives. While these are more applicable to some sectors than others, there’s no denying that the world is moving towards a sustainable future.

Considering economic, social, and environmental factors, sustainability has risen to the top of many organisations’ agendas, and for good reason; the benefits of promoting sustainability are numerous.

From attracting investment and new customers to building organisational ethos and morale and even benefiting from reduced overheads (less waste and reduced energy bills are just the start!), supporting sustainable organisational objectives helps businesses build a foundation for current and future customer engagement and success.

Ways that self-storage organisations can promote sustainability include:

Going digital
Installing energy-efficient lighting or solar panels
Promoting sustainable packaging
Reusing and recycling business materials and equipment
Automating operations where possible

Additionally, by employing proper, sustainable self-storage practises that streamline operations and reduce energy waste, a facility’s equipment can be maintained, promoting a longer lifespan.

Less buying

We live in a consumer world, one where people tend to buy what they need when they need it—within reason. This transcends all industries, from automotive to electronics and furniture.

However, how often do people buy a replacement for a product because it has become damaged or broken? We’d venture a guess that if, for example, said damaged or broken item is a car, we’d venture a guess that it’s as close to 100% of the time as you can get.

But what if, instead of leaving your car outside 24/7, at the mercy of perilous weather, you chose to store it in a self-storage unit? Well, it may be a generalised, sweeping statement, but the odds that you’ll find yourself online looking for a new car before too long will be greatly reduced.

And cars aren’t the only example of how you can safeguard your assets in a self-storage facility.

In the end, the more care you take to look after your assets, both personal and professional, the longer they’ll last. Not only does this reduce the need for constant consumption, but it also reduces waste. This, in turn, will help reduce our collective carbon footprint.

Then there’s the obvious fact that storing items like personal or office furniture means individuals and organisations are less inclined to buy those items again, which, again, helps to reduce your carbon footprint.

You can safeguard the environment by using self-storage.

There are numerous ways that self-storage has a positive effect on the environment and helps everyone reduce their carbon footprint. Of course, this may not be the primary motivation for customers to opt for self-storage.

However, it’s good to know that self-storage is a progressive sector, one that understands carbon footprints and is sensitive to environmental issues, whilst delivering appropriate solutions to safeguard our planet.

This transparency and trust will only be good for everyone in the long run as we look towards a better, cleaner future.

Resources:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/july-2023-is-hottest-month-ever-recorded-on-earth/#:~:text=This%20July%20is%20set%20to,120%2C000%20years%E2%80%94preliminary%20analyses%20show

https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/united-kingdom/news/2023/05/uk-self-storage-industry-to-exceed-1-billion-annual-turnover-in-2023

How Self-Storage Helps to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint