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Sustainability - a trend for the ages

Reading Time: 3 Minutes 12.04.2022 Currents & Trends

How companies can use sustainability to their advantage

Companies are increasingly measured by how much they invest in the sustainability of their production, which places more importance on strategic sustainability management. Many of them want to assume their own corporate social responsibility and take appropriate measures. Find out how your industry can benefit from this and why digitalization enables sustainability.

The opportunities of sustainability

As sustainability gains more importance, the focus of a company is shifted to the three big Ps: Profit, People, Planet. In other words, the key aspects of sustainability are of economical, social and environmental nature.

Economical

One of the best strategies for companies is to open up new markets, thereby developing new products and services. The sustainability concept can also be perfectly integrated into marketing. If companies put the financial aspect first, they can also convince shareholders of an investment. Digitalization helps you to also use synergies with regard to sustainability.

Social

The way prospective customers and employees perceive a company is increasingly influenced by the company's purpose. This plays a big role in attracting new talents since sustainability appeals to innovation enthusiasts. At the same time, achievements in this area are not only an asset to the companies but to the whole of society.

Environmental

Companies and customers consider the transparency of the entire value-added chain an important indicator for sustainability. This way, they are provided with detailed information about the transport and manufacturing conditions, which unlocks further potential such as the continued optimization. Risk management in consideration of environmental aspects is also gaining importance. In that regard, global players are frequently reevaluating the individual situation of their locations based on the environmental transformation.

More sustainability for manufacturing companies

In order to firmly root sustainability in your company, you should systematically introduce it to your internal structures and processes. It's often already a challenge just to identify the suitable areas. These four key aspects can help you become more sustainable:

Products and services

By developing industry-specific products that are more efficient than their predecessors, companies help their customers to become more sustainable. Services that enable more sustainable management are also a great opportunity for SMEs.

Management and processes

Sustainability is also a matter of corporate management. Incentives and a targeted bonus structure can encourage your own management to act more sustainably.

Culture and employees

Sustainable thinking and acting should be firmly rooted in the corporate culture, already on a small scale. It's important to involve employees from the beginning and give them a chance to make their own proposals.

Production and value network

When you've decided to make your company more sustainable, you'll first have to determine the status quo of your production, suppliers and customers. In the automotive industry, for example, traceability down to the smallest part has already become a central aspect.. Measurability also plays an important role, for example, when production processes are assessed with regard to carbon dioxide. Recycling economy is an approach that is often used here.

The relevance of the circular economy for SMEs

The course for more sustainability is already set when the product is being developed. Depending on the industry, products can be reused in a second or third cycle, allowing for more efficient resource utilization.
The recycling economy can increase the lifecycle of a product.

As the same customer will then purchase fewer products, this also affects your own business model. This dilemma can be resolved by introducing subscription business models.

At the end of a product lifecycle, companies can recycle their machines or plants. This option is not often used in practice, though, since reliable machine data for the safe use of the components in a second cycle are often missing.

How digitalisation supports the circular economy in industry

Digitalization makes it easier to save and process data. As you can also provide them more easily to your partners, this facilitates communication a lot. Comprehensive software like the proALPHA ERP system helps to establish and share a uniform information base. As products can then be used longer and recycled in the end, this ultimately increases the sustainability of your products.

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