The climate crisis is so huge, it can be overwhelming to think about. Achieving net zero as a manufacturer can seem like an enormous task.
We have built on our own experience to create a simplified guide for any manufacturer wanting to start their journey.
These are simple steps you can take, to see immediate improvements. They start small and get bigger — you can use the benefit of each step to reinvest and take the next one.
Overall, they cover everything from the basics, such as recycling and switching things off when not in use, to wider sustainability goals such as ensuring you have healthy staff and conducting community outreach — actions that research shows lead to us all acting more sustainably.
In each step, there are various levels you can go to, from the easy and largely cost-free to those requiring more investment.
Talk to usSteps
- Hold an all-staff meeting announcing your intention to become more sustainable
- Set targets and share them publicly to hold the company accountable
- Create a publicly shared ESG document.
- Turn off anything that’s not in use
- Where possible, digitise your facilities and equipment
- Add intelligence into your system to monitor and adjust energy usage in real time.
- Make sure you’re sorting and recycling waste at your facility
- Think of ways to get value from your waste, for example by reusing it
- Introduce circularity to your processes, reducing waste and increasing recycling.
- Switch to a renewable energy supplier
- Install renewable systems on site (such as solar panels or wind turbines)
- Establish local networks to balance loading across different sites.
- Repair equipment when it fails to elongate its lifespan
- Replace your systems with more sustainable alternatives
- Target your high-emission processes and strategically replace them.
- Put health and wellbeing at the heart of your business
- Provide opportunities for growth
- Move into the community with social outreach, such as sponsoring a local green space.
