Warehouse automation could reduce total carbon emissions by up to a quarter by allowing operators to store goods more densely and reduce the size of their facilities, according to research commissioned by warehouse automation specialist Exotec.
The company said automated warehouses can be built up to 40% smaller than manually operated facilities while maintaining the same storage capacity, reducing land use, construction materials and energy consumption.
The findings come from two studies commissioned by Exotec and published as part of its annual ESG report. One, conducted with French state agency ADEME, used life-cycle analysis, while the other, carried out with management consultancy Argon & Co, compared five picking technologies across a range of scenarios.
Both studies found that a warehouse’s environmental performance is largely determined by the building itself and its energy consumption, with compactness identified as the most effective way of reducing both.
Andreas Stöckl, Exotec sales director for Europe, said: “In logistics, the focus of sustainability is often on transport, packaging and travel, but when you can build upwards rather than outwards, the carbon footprint of a warehouse drops considerably.
“A smaller, denser warehouse requires less building material, less land and less volume to heat. Heating accounts for the majority of a warehouse’s energy consumption, so reducing that is a must if warehouse operators are looking to reduce their carbon footprint.
“Also, by storing more densely and at height, the same capacity can be achieved in significantly less space, allowing companies to avoid expanding or relocating to a larger facility, and save the emissions such expansion would entail.”
Exotec said the research also highlighted a potential disconnect between environmental performance and the priorities of warehouse managers, who are typically focused on capacity, throughput and operational costs.
Stöckl said: “The question for warehouse managers is often what increased warehouse performance costs, in both money and carbon. That is where automation can make a significant difference without the need to worry about altering floor space.
“Whilst warehouse robotics do draw more electricity than manual equipment, the lower construction costs, heating consumption, and performance improvements more than makes up for it.
“Automation is not about reducing floor space for its own sake, but about extracting maximum performance from every square metre you already have. That way you can grow without building anew, and that is where the real environmental gain lies.”
Exotec is also seeking to reduce the embodied carbon of its own equipment. It said using green steel, produced with up to 80% scrap metal in electric arc furnaces, in components for its Skypod II automated warehouse system can cut a system’s carbon footprint by 30%.
The company estimates this represents more than 600 tonnes of CO₂e per system sold, equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 240 UK homes.
Since July 2025, Exotec has included a carbon figure in every customer quote, allowing environmental impact to be considered during procurement.
Stöckl said: “UK logistics is coming under increasing pressure from their sustainability requirements, and warehouse operators are having to consider both the cost and climate impact of their warehouse solutions.
“As suppliers, we’ll need to be able to set out the environmental cost of our systems in black and white, and have the data to prove our claims. If we don’t, the industry risks missing the biggest, most cost effective, opportunity to its cut emissions.”
