Carbon neutral self-storage can help minimize environmental impact

As the planet warms and action is needed to reverse the course, we each have a responsibility to find ways to reduce our impact on the planet. This is at the forefront for many choosing what to buy and what services we choose to use.

The potential of environmental impact can also be weighed when it comes to services like self storage.

While storage can help foster recycling and repurposing and reduce landfill space demand, the self storage facility itself can also help the environment if built with these actions in mind.  

When it comes to storage facilities in North America delivering carbon-neutral and eco-friendly initiatives, NationWide Self Storage Boundary is Vancouver’s first carbon neutral self-storage facility with a mandate to minimize environmental impacts. This latest location at 3680 East 4^th Avenue, has been consciously designed to reduce its environmental impact and to make this building a healthy, clean, and inviting space.

There are several ways that renting with NationWide Self Storage Boundary can help you reduce your impact on the natural world. 

Stop contributing to a throwaway society

Many people have fallen into the habit of throwing things out quickly instead of repairing them or storing things properly, so it doesn’t get damaged in the first place. Often items simply get misplaced and its easier to just go and buy a new one (this happens all the time when tools are not stored properly).

Using a self-storage unit for the things you only need occasionally, like seasonal tools, furniture and toys, means that once that season is over, these things can be cleaned, labeled, and stored out of harm’s way.  Seasonal items previously left in a truck on or out in the yard will have their life extended with proper storage and use year-after-year. 

For example, suppose the lawn mower is starting to sputter.  You can take it in for repairs and a good cleaning (or learn to do it yourself) once the summer is over, and then have the dry, temperature-controlled self-storage unit to keep it pristine until summer starts again.

Keep it out of the landfill people!

Many people have all the good intentions in the world to sell, donate, or recycle when they are moving to new offices or homes.    However after some time goes by, it’s suddenly just easier to haul it all to the landfill and never think about it again. A self-storage unit is the perfect way to buy some time so that you can dispose of at recycle depots, sell or donate the things you don’t want or need anymore rather than just throwing them immediately out.

This often happens when people inherit an estate and it’s too overwhelming to decide where things need to be distributed. A self-storage unit allows people the time to be able to extend the life of precious heirlooms and furniture or even to recycle old books and clothes and electronics. It’s actually a great way to reduce both the stress of an estate settlement and your footprint.

A smaller carbon footprint, energy efficiency and savings in your pocket

More and more businesses are finding that they don’t need the large brick-and-mortar storefronts, empty office towers or big warehouses anymore.   Instead, they are reducing the costly burden of commercial rents and wisely renting more economically priced self storage space for things such as inventory storage, file records storage, or all that extra furniture now that their staff is working from home.   Why spend on the heating and plumbing and rental space to store extra office furniture and inventory when you can put it in climate-controlled storage nearby and easily share access to it with your employees?

Families and individuals are also downsizing their living spaces out of convenience and preference. The positive thing about choosing smaller spaces is that it reduces the size of one’s carbon footprint because there are fewer resources needed to operate a smaller space than a larger one.   

Over the past few years, especially because of COVID-19, many individuals have been facing the new normal of working from home and have needed to make space for a home office.  Self storage has helped people put away the extra clutter or seasonal items in their homes to allow for a more enjoyable workspace.

When you choose an eco-friendly self-storage facility like NationWide, you can take comfort that your personal belongings or business inventory are safe and in a self-storage facility that is also operationally energy efficient and carbon neutral. NationWide has intentionally reduced its TEUI (“total energy use intensity”) by adding renewable solar panels to its rooftop and other energy-efficient technology.  An HRV system (heat recovery ventilator) has also been installed to re-capture heat in the building along with a LED lighting system that is fully controlled via a time clock, photocell, motion sensing, and dimmers to keep the utility bills low.

The NationWide Self Storage Boundary building is designed to be fully electrified and through the installation of rooftop photo voltaic solar panels, offsets 7% of energy in the building. With carbon-neutral compliance in mind, the insulation for all windows, walls, floors, and roof is a higher-than-normal grade value that typical self-storage facilities would not use. 

Making Smart, Eco-Friendly Choices

If you are looking for ways to reduce your overall carbon footprint and give your life a bit more breathing room, consider Vancouver and Burnaby’s first green self storage facility. 

Our units come in a variety of sizes, and each unit is equipped with the latest low-voltage keyless technology to keep your personal items and business supplies safe. When you choose NationWide, not only will you save money, but you will be making a positive impact on the environment.