Sustainable Manufacturing Creates a Culture of Caring

Sustainable manufacturing is a business model that calls for the manufacture of products using methods and materials that reduce negative impacts to the environment and conserve energy, materials, and natural resources.

A well-planned sustainability initiative consists of three key goal-oriented elements:

• Environmental sustainability—reduce harmful impacts to the environment by controlling pollution and toxic emissions, increasing recycling efforts, and conserving natural resources
• Economic sustainability—support the long-term profitability of the manufacturing facility by creating and maintaining a culture of ongoing improvement that focuses on innovation, efficiency, quality, and Industry 4.0 digital technologies
• Social sustainability—provide modern, safe working environments that utilize automation and other technologies to prioritize employee safety and wellness, as well as provide training and advancement opportunities

How Does Sustainability Impact a Business?

The top benefits resulting from sustainable manufacturing practices include:

• Reduced carbon footprint—protects the environment by using renewable energy, conserving water and other natural resources, and managing waste.
• Cost-effectiveness—reduces operating costs through more efficient processes and supply chains, including resource, production, and regulatory compliance costs.
• Competitiveness—enhances brand reputation, which can be a key differentiator in the marketplace and help win new customers who want to do business with environmentally responsible manufacturers.
• Workplace loyalty—provides employees with safe and stimulating working conditions, including opportunities to work with innovative technologies to build their skill sets, thereby creating a culture of employee engagement that improves retention and attracts new hires.
• Regulatory compliance—helps manufacturers meet or exceed compliance requirements by using automation to track due dates and key environmental metrics as well as to establish an organized record of compliance measures.
• Innovative culture—fosters greater innovation and flexibility by encouraging team members to learn and think more creatively to develop new processes, materials, and even new business models, strengthening the company brand as an innovative leader.

Start with Lean

Every part of the manufacturing process has potential for reducing environmental harm. For best results, a company needs to establish a dedicated sustainability team or lead. Company leaders new to sustainability can start with low-cost corporate initiatives that improve efficiency or lead to new policies for conserving resources.

Applying lean principles and Six Sigma offers an effective and low-cost approach to identify areas for improvement. Both of these programs are long-standing quality improvement systems that emphasize best practices and streamlined workflows. Value stream mapping is an excellent lean tool that evaluates all systems and processes to identify and remove costly waste. Lean can deliver significant results quickly, where even small changes can result in big improvements in sustainability. With this framework in place, company leaders can then recommend new energy-efficient technologies to adopt and resource management methods to implement. Businesses can also revise their supply chains and logistics to reduce the amount of required packaging and transportation.

“Closed-loop” design is another sustainability strategy that considers the entire product lifecycle, from production and packaging to transportation and end use. Effective closed-loop design looks for opportunities to recoup energy or materials through reuse, recycling, or reduction. To close the loop, manufacturers look at how effectively products and packaging can be broken down and recycled, how many steps are required, and whether these materials can re-enter the original manufacturing cycle or be repurposed in a different form.  These are important design considerations for any product.

Technology at the Forefront

Technology is at the heart of process improvement and sustainability for manufacturing facilities. The Internet of Things (IoT), automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital twins all play a role in designing sustainable operations. For example, automation reduces labor costs, improves production accuracy, and minimizes waste. Cloud-based systems enhance scalability, performance, and reliability, often in real time—advanced analytics can monitor equipment and predict maintenance needs before costly breakdowns occur. IoT and AI data can also be used to identify new trends or develop improved forecasting models that impact sustainability.

These new sustainability-enabling technologies can be implemented into new production facilities with modern materials, building systems, or process layouts that result in less energy loss, waste, and emissions.

A Sustainable Future

Ultimately, manufacturers that develop a culture of sustainability have an edge over their competitors in the marketplace. Their commitment to sustainability builds loyalty from existing customers and also attracts new, environmentally aware customers. As these relationships take hold, manufacturers can develop more ambitious key performance indicators (KPIs) and success metrics. They can then invest in the technologies needed to achieve those KPIs—for example, reducing emissions or integrating sustainable energy alternatives such as solar, wind, and natural gas. Companies can also collaborate with like-minded suppliers to design sustainability initiatives that work for all partners, such as building closed-loop systems to minimize waste.

Ultimately, when sustainability becomes a core belief in a company’s culture, not only will the environment benefit, but also employee satisfaction, brand awareness, customer loyalty, and the agility to react to market changes—creating the best odds for sustainable growth in the future.