How can manufacturing be sustainable: 5 examples
Strategic Allies Ltd has seen a big change in the last five years in terms of the focus of our client’s challenges when it comes to making manufacturing more sustainable. Sustainability in manufacturing was always on the agenda but it wasn’t a top priority until recently.
Today, 70% of our searches, across all sectors, are directly focused on making manufacturing sustainable. Moreover, even in the other 30% of cases, sustainability when it comes to manufacturing is a crucial hygiene factor. Many solutions we come up with they all have to be compliant with the client’s ESG strategy.
So, how can manufacturers engage in more sustainable practices in the future?
The path to sustainable manufacturing
Whether you believe the refocusing is due to global consumer pressure or emerging national legislation the fact is that across all manufacturing sectors, the largest companies are now committed and firmly on their journey to delivering sustainable manufacturing processes.
It certainly isn’t an easy road though and most of the companies are still in the early days of developing their manufacturing sustainability capability, credentials, and internal skills to deliver them. Seeking solutions and opportunities outside of their core corporate competencies, the more innovative of these companies are relying heavily upon external scouting skills.
These skills, developed over many years in the team at Strategic Allies Ltd, are both ideally suited and familiar with this type of non-linear challenge.
Examples of sustainable manufacturing
- Secured bio-based replacement technology to replace petrochemical-derived grease and lubricant products for a major North American client.
- Connected our personal care client to green chemistry/biotechnology companies operating or developing sustainable manufacturing processes for long-chain alkanes, isoalkanes, isoparaffins, or their precursors.
- Delivered partners with expertise in the mild (sustainable, low energy consuming, and/or solvent-free) processing of plant-based raw materials to enable the future production of oils/fats and proteins for a global food industry corporate.
- Delivered a new polyolefin technology partner for use in agricultural green housing, which will be formulated in such a way that it becomes biodegradable and can therefore be used directly in mulching situations for our chemicals industry client.
- Investigated the current and potential future technology landscape for biodegradable optical brighteners to inform client strategy.
Conclusion
The journey to sustainability in manufacturing can be a tortuous path but with help, it can be an incredibly rewarding experience rather than a daunting one. With the end of the year looming, is it now time to start the journey to sustainable manufacturing and take the first steps with an experienced guide?
Take a look at our other case studies for inspiration or if you are ready, please contact John Allies at john@strategicallies.co.uk for an exploratory conversation.