The climate is changing. Nowhere is that more apparent than in our oceans, marked by crashing fish stocks and an abundance of floating plastic waste. These shifts are not just statistics—they are visible in real time to those who spend time on the water.
Finnish sailor and environmental advocate Tapio Lehtinen has witnessed these changes firsthand over decades of sailing, and his experiences have driven him to advocate for solutions that address climate change. Some can be found in surprising places. Lehtinen is now partnering with companies in the logistics and technology sectors to support his sailing expeditions and bring visibility to climate solutions.
As a CEO of a technology company and an avid sailor and nature lover myself, Lehtinen’s goals resonated with me. Addressing climate change requires interventions across multiple sectors, including technology-driven approaches that improve efficiency and reduce waste.
I believe one solution to our planet’s abundant waste problem comes from smart asset management, real-time location systems (RTLS) and location-based services (LBS). But you may ask, what does asset tracking have to do with tackling the climate crisis? By knowing exactly what you have and where you have it, companies can limit both overstocking and plastic production. Let me explain further how the two can support one another.
How Location Services Support Sustainability
Location services and sustainability are more closely linked than they may seem at first glance. In a world where reducing waste and conserving resources are critical, the ability to track assets in real-time has become an essential part of sustainable operations. Location technology can also be used to track visitors, monitor maximum capacity and reroute guests in crowded museums or prevent overtourism in national parks, for instance. In manufacturing and logistics, location-based technology helps businesses use resources more efficiently, reducing their environmental impact while also improving operational performance.
Let’s start by explaining how it works. RTLS functions by using tags or QR codes attached to mobile assets, equipment and inventory. These tags communicate with a network of fixed receivers, which can compute their position to provide live location updates. RTLS uses a variety of technologies and methodologies—including Bluetooth low energy (BLE), radio frequency identification (RFID) and GPS—to offer asset tracking with varying levels of precision.
Data collected from RTLS is processed through software platforms that provide real-time visibility, analytics and automation capabilities. Operations managers can use RTLS to find any asset in an industrial-sized warehouse and to keep an automatically updated, complete inventory of assets. From simple forklift vehicle spare parts to parcels for e-commerce, the underlying idea is that before ordering more, you can check what you already have.
In industrial environments, the technology helps streamline supply chain operations. For example, it can reduce energy usage by optimizing forklift routes inside the warehouse, ensuring that tools are readily available at the working stations and avoiding both shrinkage and overstocking.
Building A Circular Economy
As industries face growing pressure to transition to a carbon-neutral circular economy, the focus is shifting from a linear “take-make-dispose” model to one that prioritizes products that are designed for reuse, refurbishment and recycling. In a circular economy, assets can be repurposed to create a closed loop of materials. This shift reduces reliance on virgin raw materials, minimizes waste and lowers environmental impact.
By providing precise tracking of materials within and around industrial facilities, RTLS helps repurpose resources and materials more effectively, extend product life cycles (improve predictive maintenance, increase product lifetime, avoid breakage and reduce production downtime) and reduce unnecessary manufacturing and stocking of tools and spares. This level of efficiency directly supports sustainability goals.
Reducing Plastic Waste
You may still be struggling to see the connection between asset management and ocean conservation—and why Lehtinen is advocating for this technology. But consider that plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental challenges, with an estimated 200 million tons of plastic waste already in the oceans, increasing by over 8 million tons each year. RTLS can play a critical role in reducing the excess manufacturing of items that, whenever ordered without clear asset management visibility, are eventually lost or will never be used in daily operations.
RTLS also enhances recycling efforts by providing better traceability of spare parts, materials and vehicles used to support daily activities. The packaging of such items is often made of plastic, which often ends up in landfills or the ocean. By integrating RTLS into their operations, businesses can take a proactive approach to reducing plastic waste, supporting sustainability goals and healthy oceans.
Challenges And Opportunities
As explained in a previous article, sustainability regulations are not always considered profitable for business. Unfortunately, companies often think the opposite, assuming that the green economy is a limit to their business capabilities. This is far from the truth, especially when analyzing daily operations in terms of both productivity and running costs.
But where to start? The first step is to consult an expert vendor or a consultant with a strong track record in location solutions for industrial facilities. A knowledgeable partner can quickly assess your needs, gather feasibility requirements and propose one or two solutions that balance initial investment costs with expected returns. This early evaluation helps ensure that the chosen solution aligns with both operational goals and budget constraints.
Once a potential solution is identified, it’s crucial to test it in a real-world setting before committing to a full-scale rollout. Budgeting for a time-limited pilot test—typically lasting three to six months—within your facility allows businesses to evaluate the technology’s performance under actual operating conditions. While many providers can showcase impressive demos in controlled environments, only a real industrial site can uncover potential limitations.
Technology As A Climate Solution
Real-time location tracking is not a standalone fix for the carbon footprint of the logistics sector, but it is part of a larger ecosystem of solutions. As businesses increasingly prioritize asset management for cost reduction, this will positively impact the overall sustainability, essentially creating a more resource-efficient and low-carbon future.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com.
