If you’ve been paying attention to public energy policy over the last few years, then you’ll have heard of something called ‘net zero’. This is the name given to a strategy which aims to decarbonise the UK economy, with the result that the country removes more carbon (and carbon equivalent gases) from the atmosphere than it releases.
Non-environmental goals
We might readily associate ‘sustainability’ with the environment. But there are certain practices which can’t be sustained for non-environmental reasons. For example, workplaces which allow workers to become ill or injured might have difficulty keeping going in the long term, since workers will either become unavailable for work, or look for another job.
The United Nations’ Department of Economic and Social Affairs lists seventeen ‘sustainable development’ goals. The third of them is to ensure ‘good health and wellbeing’ for everyone. This means not only creating better public health incentives, but also a culture which protects workers from workplace hazards. Manufacturers might deal with these problems by training their employees on health and safety procedures, and by equipping those workers with the appropriate health and safety equipment.
Net-zero goals
Manufacturers can also help contribute to a cleaner planet with a more stable environment, and fewer extinctions. There are three main ways via which this is being done.
Recyclable materials
When manufacturers swap out non-recyclable materials for recyclable ones, they’ll reduce the amount of raw materials that need to be extracted from the natural world. Of course, recycling isn’t as good as repurposing or reusing, since it still requires energy and transport. Moreover, some items can’t be recycled – or at least, not with an ease that would make the practice feasible.
Where making the transition to recycling makes sense, however, manufacturers can make a huge difference. The major difference, naturally, is in packaging, which represents a portion of any given product that’s designed to be thrown away once it’s done the job of protecting the item in question during transit. Where packaging can be made greener, these problems can be dealt with.
Digital manufacturing
Manufacturers have access to unprecedented technological tools, which can be used to develop superior products and eliminate waste. This might include Internet of Things applications which can report on the performance of a product in the field, and transmit the relevant data back to the manufacturer. This means that persistent faults can be identified quickly and corrected, resulting in less waste.
Renewable Energy
When manufacturers can install renewable energy sources directly in their factories and buildings, they can limit the amount of dirty energy being used during the manufacturing process. We might also consider the things being created. Manufacturers might also transition away from polluting processes to greener ones, in order to cater to a buoyant renewable energy sector.
