Manufacturing is without a doubt one of the largest global sectors and one that’s been in the news many times in recent years due to what a large role it plays in pollution. Thankfully, in recent years the manufacturing sector as a whole is taking responsibility for its carbon emissions, waste, and sustainability in order to become eco-friendly.
It this article we’ll take a look at exactly how the sector is becoming more eco-friendly.
Environmental Friendliness in Industry
Sustainability and a commitment to an environmentally friendly method of production are often seen as gimmicks employed by the commercial market to attack customers by appearing to align more closely with their values and ethics.
However, the industrial sectors are quietly becoming more environmentally friendly in a bid to exist in a more sustainable way. This is most obvious in the manufacturing sector, which has taken big steps in recent years to change not only how products are made, but also what they are being manufactured from.
Using Renewable Energy
Because the manufacturing sector uses so much energy, collectively it can only reduce its intake to a certain point. However, what the sector has been doing is turning to renewable energy sources to meet its needs. Companies like industrial and domestic door manufacturer Hörmann are making a real commitment to using green energy sources and its current operations in Germany boast a comparatively low 60% reliance on traditional energy sources with 40% being provided by green energy supplier Naturstrom.
Reducing Waste
The two biggest issues that the manufacturing sector has tackled in order to become eco-friendly are surplus production and the sourcing of raw materials. Not only does the sector now aim to source raw material in a more sustainable manner but the manufacturing sector is also working hard to updatehowit manufactures goods.
New processes have replaced old ways of manufacturing that were not only time consuming but inefficient too. By increasing efficiency, waste is minimised and a faster method of production requires less energy, reducing power consumption too.
Cutting down on excessive production and inventory is another way manufacturing is attempting to be more eco-friendly by adopting a just-in-time style of production where there is no surplus production or stockpiling.
Energy-Efficient Facilities
Sustainability is not just about manufacturing goods in an eco-friendly manner but also ensuring that factories, company facilities and production plans are all run in an energy-efficient manner. By adopting this ethos, some manufacturing companies are transforming their entire business to run in a more energy efficient way from headquarters and offices right through to the production plants and shipment of finished goods.
Some of the ways in which manufacturing plants and factories are becoming more energy-efficient are by upgrading their insulation to minimise heat loss, investing in energy-saving lightbulbs, and looking for more efficient methods of heating.
Paired with the use of renewable energy sources and green energy suppliers, this amounts to a significant shift when you consider how large manufacturing facilities are and the global scale on which many of the largest manufacturing companies operate.