Shipping containers could be considered among the most sustainable objects on the planet.
These big steel boxes can be used over-and-over again for freight or repurposed to create everything from bus shelters and fish filleting stations to event kiosks and construction site offices. And at the end of their working life, they are sold to customers who repurpose them into their own storage solutions. Ultimately, they find their way to recycling facilities to be transformed into new products.
Sustainability is a word that gets bandied round a lot – to a point where it often becomes arbitrary or a buzz word that needs to be there to tick a box. Yet, sustainability in its many and varied forms, is essential to business growth and, not to sound too dramatic, the well-being of our planet.
There is nothing arbitrary about the sustainability of steel boxes. Sustainability is part of our DNA at Royal Wolf. The strength and long-term life span of shipping containers means they are ideal for creating products that companies can use to implement sustainable practices into core parts of their business.
There is a flipside, with some experts saying shipping containers contribute to carbon emissions because of the part they play in the global supply chain.
However, there is no question containers are supporting businesses to increase efficiencies and move towards a more sustainable future.
For example, the Royal Wolf Site Hub is fully kitted out with sustainable elements including a 1000ltr water tank, solar panels, solar battery back-up, rainwater harvesting, and grey water storage.
It is a self-sufficient solution designed to provide site facilities where there is no, or limited access to services. The Site Hub is used in a range of industries, including building and construction and government infrastructure projects.
Royal Wolf also worked collaboratively with Antarctica New Zealand on an ambitious container project to create a fail-safe solution to ensure storage containers did not leak and compromise the Antarctic environment.
A bespoke bund – a barrier for the containment of liquid – was developed to fit inside two dangerous goods containers to mitigate any risk of spillage.
Containers also make a difference across a wide range of other sectors.
In the intermodal industry, Royal Wolf continues to develop products that provide universal solutions to enable the movement of freight safely, efficiently, and at greater capacity.
In the construction sector multi-stack containers and storage platforms provide safe, space-saving work site solutions to ensure teams can get on and do the job at hand with limited disruption.
Containers have the power to help businesses do everything from reduce costs and gain a competitive advantage, through to supporting them to meet and exceed sustainability targets and goals.
Pushing the boundaries of shipping container design to develop new products and improve existing ones not only benefits a wide range of industries but society as a whole.
