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Manufacturing Industry Alone Climate Change eco-conscious business operations

Manufacturing is Moving to a Cleaner, Greener Future

The manufacturing industry alone accounts for

54% of the global energy consumed*

20% of the total greenhouse gasses emitted*

*According to the World Economic Forum

With countries enforcing climate change policies and eco-conscious business operations becoming a global priority:

Manufacturers

Manufacturers are being pushed to implement climate-positive changes

Job Seekers

Job seekers are prioritizing eco-conscious workplaces and companies

Carbon Footprint

And consumers are actively choosing products with the lowest carbon footprint

The Numbers Speak for Themselves

$53Trillion

projected in global sustainable investments by 2025

Bloomberg Intelligence

79%Investors

are focused on sustainable assets

Morgan Stanley

99%Millennial Investors

are looking to invest in climate conscious companies

Morgan Stanley

The Need of the Hour: Visibility and Analysis

Manufacturers are eager to lower their carbon footprint but are facing challenges in tracking and analyzing relevant data:

Xlimate Impact Data

39% of companies feel hindered by a lack of climate impact data from the different areas of manufacturing

Data Impediment

A further 15% cite the lack of tools to derive insights from available data as an impediment

The search for functional models and best practices that can be shared across industries and scaled across different company sizes is underway.

Tackling Emissions, One Scope at a Time

Scope 1

Direct emissions from operational fuel combustion

Scope 2

Indirect emissions from company's energy usage

Scope 3

Indirect emissions from the supply chain and product lifecycle

5 Key Findings

1

45% of surveyed manufacturers are already tracking their direct (Scope 1) and indirect (Scope 2) emissions

2

70% manufacturers said that tracking Scope 3 emissions is the hardest and are yet to start, with the exception of the automotive and aerospace industries

3

Digital technologies are key to tracking and reducing emissions, as they inherently enable transparency and accelerate decision making

4

Top three impediments to carbon neutrality action:

  • Inability to measure all factors of emissions
  • Lack of resources and budgets to tackle goals
  • Unclear roles & ownership within the company
5

Top three goals of companies for the next 5 years:

  • Improving energy efficiency
  • Reducing carbon footprint
  • Making eco-conscious operational updates
The game changer in sustainability and cutting greenhouse gas emissions is digital.

Katie McGinty

Vice President & Chief Sustainability, Government and Regulatory Affairs Officer at Johnson Controls

Sustainability Begins at Home

How well are manufacturers equipped to tackle their own emissions and realize their sustainability goals?

0%
Sustainability goals and carbon footprint are part of the company's culture and best practices
0%
We have enough people and skills to measure, report, and support our sustainability goals
0%
We are confident in the accuracy of our carbon footprint KPIs and metrics
0%
We have a well-defined strategy and metrics for our carbon emission goals
0%
We have all the necessary technology and IT support to measure our emissions

Notably, companies of all sizes, across industries, say that sustainability goals, including carbon footprint, are part of the company's culture and best practices.

Key Areas of Focus

Top initiatives by manufacturers to reduce carbon emissions over the next 3-5 years

32% Reducing Overall Footprint (Reducing Fossil fuels, packaging, combustion, waste water, electric consumption, etc.)
27% Energy Efficiencies (Renewable energy, solar power, heating/cooling or lighting upgrades, etc.)
27% Operational Updates (Updating vehicles, consolidating shipments, optimizing supply chains, reducing scrap in production, etc.)

Roadblocks on the Journey to Sustainability

20% of respondents said that they have no dedicated entity or budget to drive and meet their sustainability goals. This lack of funding and ownership snowballs into a variety of issues:

Inability to measure all related factors

39%

Lack of resources or bandwidth to tackle all our goals

37%

Ownership and roles are not clear within the company

33%

Internal data is not complete or not reliable

30%

Energy consumption across factories

30%

Tracking environmental impact in different locations

30%

Inconsistency of frameworks and metrics across industrys

22%

No dedicated budget allocated to these activities

20%

Limitations on the innovation of sustainable products and processes

19%

External data not accessible

17%

Lack of adequate tools to create insights from our data

15%

Inability to identify metrics or KPIs

15%

Other

6%

Automotive & Aerospace: Ahead of the Curve

The automotive and aerospace industry are not only keeping up with Scope 1 & 2 initiatives, but are leading the charge in tracking Scope 3 emissions

  • All industries
  • Aerospace & Automotive
Scope 1
Scope 2
Scope 3
All of the above
Only Scope 1 & 2

Thinking Outside the Unit

Tracking Scope 3 emissions requires looking upstream and downstream to identify specific and granular emissions drivers

Notably, more than 70% of the companies said it was moderately or extremely difficult to track the carbon footprint of the product once it was sold

Putting Net Zero Within Reach

While upstream and downstream emissions present a real challenge, adopting the right technologies can help manufacturers meet them head-on and unlock a host of benefits, like:

Real-time Visibility
Real-time visibility into emissions impact from shop floors and processes, to address issues with agility
Operational Transparency
Operational transparency by using data for insights and to understand causality of actions
Simulations
Simulations to test emission reduction efforts in the virtual world before taking action in the real world
Autonomous Decision Making
Autonomous decision-making enabled by all of the above capabilities, resulting in reduced human intervention and error

A Panel Discussion on Carbon Neutral Manufacturing

A Panel Discussion on Carbon Neutral Manufacturing Join Jasmeet Singh, Head of Manufacturing at Infosys, in conversation with Katie McGinty, Vice President & Chief Sustainability, Government and Regulatory Affairs Officer, Johnson Controls and Danielle Merfeld, VP & Chief Technology Officer, GE Renewable Energy on how manufacturers can lead the journey to sustainability and deliver on carbon neutral goals, in this webinar organized by the Manufacturers Alliance.

Manufacturers Alliance Foundation and Infosys Issue Industry Progress Report on Carbon Neutral Goals

This report shines a light on where U.S. manufacturers are today and how they can continue to support sustainability and growth.

Stephen Gold

President and CEO of Manufacturers Alliance

Providing visibility and insights from manufacturing operations data is key to accelerating progress on sustainability goals.

Jasmeet Singh

Executive Vice President and Global Head of Manufacturing, Infosys

Download our Joint Report to Navigate Your Journey to Sustainability

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Delivering On Carbon Neutral Goals

Sustainable Manufacturing Practives

Delivering On Carbon Neutral Goals

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