Costs and concerns
The operational energy consumption of warehouse buildings varies greatly depending on their function. Warehouses that provide cold storage usually require more energy than those where significant temperature variations can be tolerated.
Similarly, warehouses that also house manufacturing or retail units such as hardware shops will require more energy than storage buildings. Manufacturing uses energy but also emits heat that can reduce the energy required for space heating. Retail units need more lighting and often have tighter temperature controls than storage and distribution facilities.
Typically, hot and cold water consumption per square meter of a warehouse facility is relatively low compared with office or retail spaces due to its large operational areas that do not require water use. However, administrative facilities in warehouses usually have showers and changing rooms that require a lot of water. Irrigation requirements are typically minimal due to simple landscaping. Investment in expensive drip-irrigation systems would likely be ineffective given the simple landscaping, but rainwater harvesting and gray-water utilization could be considered.
As waste can become a significant cost for distribution centers, separate waste collection has a lot of potential in the warehouse sector. Waste generated at a warehouse facility typically includes packaging and pallets, or cardboard and wood. A significant amount of this waste can be removed by the recycling companies that are starting to emerge in the Moscow and St. Petersburg regions. A facility usually has to produce at least 1 ton of recyclable waste to arrange collection for free. Adding a special place for waste accumulation cannot only improve environmental performance, but also reduce waste removal costs by 70 to 80 percent.