Terra Technology Introduces Sustainability Calculator to Measure Environmental Impact of Inventory Reductions

New tool lets manufacturers assess how improving forecast accuracy significantly cuts carbon emissions and water consumption

NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Terra Technology today introduces its online Sustainability Calculator designed to help manufacturers determine the environmental impact of reducing excess stocks through better demand prediction and inventory optimization. Terra’s sustainability calculator uses three simple steps to measure the environmental benefits of reducing inventory and to help companies understand the magnitude of these savings relative to corporate sustainability goals.

“Reducing inventory may be the single most important action a manufacturer can take towards meeting its corporate sustainability goals”

Carbon and water embodied in the estimated $8 trillion of global inventory is the equivalent of roughly 11 percent of the total annual global carbon emissions and 40 percent of global water use. While some inventory is important to ensure product availability, excess inventory stemming from forecasting error represents an enormous environmental and financial burden. By reducing unnecessary inventory, manufacturers significantly decrease their environmental footprint while lowering costs and improving return on capital.

Cutting inventory eliminates carbon emissions and water use from many parts of the product lifecycle, including manufacturing, raw materials, packaging and distribution. For most companies, manufacturing represents less than 10 percent of the total life cycle footprint, so achieving truly impactful reduction requires that sustainability programs reach beyond factory walls. Moreover, manufacturers that depend on agriculture or livestock for production are more likely to find that raw materials account for 80-90 percent of their total footprint.

“Reducing inventory may be the single most important action a manufacturer can take towards meeting its corporate sustainability goals,” said Robert F. Byrne, president and CEO of Terra Technology. “Many sustainability initiatives tend to be limited in scope, like reducing package density for a specific product, or are tied to one part of the lifecycle, such as alternative energy for manufacturing. By reducing demand uncertainty for virtually all products in all locations, Terra’s solutions help companies cut unnecessary inventory across their entire portfolio and realize cumulative environmental savings from many parts of the product lifecycle. We feel this is an important step to enable more efficient and sustainable manufacturing that can scale to meet the needs of a rapidly growing world population.”

Visit Terra’s free online Sustainability Calculator to learn about the environmental and financial benefits of reducing your company’s inventory footprint.

About Terra Technology

Terra Technology uses better mathematics to sense demand, optimize inventory and predict transportation and warehousing requirements for some of the world’s best-known companies including Shell, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Mondelēz, Kimberly-Clark, Kraft Foods, ConAgra Foods, General Mills, Kellogg and Campbell Soup. Terra invented demand sensing in 2002 and offered the first solutions which use retailer data systematically to improve supply chain efficiency, enhance service, cut inventory and reduce waste. Information on how Terra enables a truly integrated supply chain can be found at terratechnology.com.