Manufacturing Sustainability

Recently, we put the following poll out on social media as it really is so relevant to us and many other Manufacturers, “What do you think is the best way to be sustainable within the Manufacturing industry?” With the multiple choice answers of:

Optimise use of fossil fuels, Eliminate waste and pollution, Recycle and, Save time

All of these are excellent ways and answers to the question, but what did the public vote?..

Optimise use of fossil fuels = 0%

Eliminate Waste and Pollution = 33%

Recycle = 50%

Save time = 17%

Interesting results and everyone is correct in terms of their votes as all of these are great ways to be more sustainable as a manufacturer (all industries). You can do a bit of everything to contribute to being more economical as a business.

We will now go through and briefly discuss each one.

Optimise your current use of fossil fuels – This may seem like the most obvious answer, when machinery is not in use, turn it off, and replace equipment for more economical versions such as, you can replace a single speed motor with a variable speed one to reduce energy consumption. Also take a look at other sustainable sources of energy, whether that’s wind, solar or hydroelectric power. It can be so easy to stick to what you have always done because that is the habit. But checking your current fuel consumption, switching when needed and being aware of when you can turn things off; can be a great way of becoming more sustainable.

Secondly, we have Eliminate Waste and Pollution. This essentially means consume only the supplies and resources required to complete the job so there isn’t much waste. And with the waste that you do produce you can recycle (which is the next point!) You can also reduce the use of “environmentally unfriendly” materials in production, as well as by-products of manufacturing processes.

Next, we have Recycle which was the highest vote with this poll. Setting up different recycling points throughout the business for specific waste and ensuring everyone follows the process and knows what to do is so important. Similarly, for large bulky production waste , you can partner with Brokers that take various wastage like polymers or metal. They collect your waste every so often when it builds up, and pay you for this, so it is a win-win for you. Then it gets re-ground and made into something else. Instead of your waste going into landfill, it can be correctly disposed to these centres, and you get paid something too!

Lastly we have Save Time, which again may seem so simple and obvious but not everyone does this. Simply by saving time itself and being constructive and disciplined with your day is an indirect way of energy saving. If you are organised with how you use your energy and think strategically you may be able turn machines off etc and run more jobs on the same machine for example.

Whether we like it or not, in recent years, companies are judged based on how sustainable they are. You are likely to get more business if you can show and prove that you are truly a Green Company. It is a major selling point. When looking at companies to work with, these are the following things to look out for which are a good indicator if they are sustainable or not and similarly, if you want to be the business people work with, you need to be the following also! Firstly, Transparent. Companies that are honest builds trust and being honest shows there is nothing to hide. Displaying the source of materials clearly on the website for example, shows there is nothing untoward in the products. Honesty is the best policy!

Does the company have a mission or a goal that supports the environment? Check out the companies website, or social media posts and see what kinds of things they are talking about to see what they view as important.

Does the company have any ethical certifications and is the company fair trade?

Lastly, are the products cruelty free with how they test their products?

I hope this blog has been interesting and informative. I am sure it has given a lot of food for thought!

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