Manufacturers are responsible for one-fifth of all global carbon emissions. ¹

From your suppliers and your production lines to your operational technology and network, there are multiple ways to improve your sustainability. By leveraging smart technologies, you can monitor and reduce your contribution to that statistic.

Sustainability can also have a positive effect on accessing capital. According to the World Economic Forum:

“...sustainability has become a matter of access to capital. High-carbon businesses are finding it increasingly tough to fund business-as-usual investment. On the flip side, there’s a tidal wave of funding flowing into the energy transition and the growth of green businesses.” ²

Smart technologies underpinned by a secure, robust network can help you:

• Get real-time data across your entire ecosystem, enabling the measuring and managing of your carbon footprint
• Model, predict and mitigate any faults across your operational technology (OT) devices and supply chain, helping you reduce energy consumption and waste

Strategic investments across your information technology (IT) architecture can help your business be the eco-conscious partner that customers and employees want. 

Investing in sustainability-supporting technologies doesn’t have to be disruptive. With the right network provider supporting your technology and machinery, you can help ensure production as usual. There should be no need to compromise the customer satisfaction you’ve worked so hard for.

Leverage technology for sustainability insights.

Data-led insights from the technologies you use across your manufacturing facilities can give you a better understanding of where you’re measuring against environmental objectives and expectations.

You could use technology and optimise your networks to lower your energy use. For example, using technologies like 5G and network as a service (NaaS)—5G can have lower energy requirements than other networks and automation can help enable energy-efficient devices.³ 

You also can use technology to provide data insights into where your business can lessen its environmental impact and reduce waste. This can be aided by intelligent sensors to track inventory.

This helps to show your customers that you’re a greener, sustainability-focused partner by showing them how you’re monitoring your carbon footprint.

Reduce energy consumption and waste across your supply chain.

From your machinery to your heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC), you can utilise smart technologies to make a positive impact on your energy use and waste generation. As long as your technology is underpinned by a robust and reliable network, you’ll be better able to harness their potential with reduced disruption to your plant functions.

Intelligent lighting and heating systems can help reduce your energy consumption across your facilities considerably. By using automation and intelligent sensors, you can help ensure energy is being used efficiently and only when necessary.

Intelligent condition-based maintenance systems and technology can help you monitor the efficiency and energy use of machinery, and check for faults in real time. This can help reduce the need for regular in-person checks to preserve resources. With 5G and edge computing, you can support and scale these technologies, too. 

You also can use artificial intelligence and intelligent sensors to spot and trace flaws more quickly during production. This will have the double benefit of lessening disruption and reducing waste. 

Boost customer satisfaction by being the green partner they want.

Customers are now demanding more environmental and social responsibility from their suppliers. With social pressure mounting, manufacturers must prioritise investing in greener initiatives and business practices.

Unsure where you’re wasting water? Unsure where you’re not being energy efficient? There’s data for that. Get that data by leveraging smart technologies, that help pinpoint where to reduce waste and consumption. When you can show customers that you’re taking action toward a greener manufacturing ecosystem, you have the opportunity to boost customer satisfaction and retention.

Customers often have green commitments and environmental objectives of their own. Show them how you can support these objectives as their supplier and partner. With a greener infrastructure and footprint, your ecological wins are their wins.The right network can help you support the technology that can make your manufacturing even more sustainable. Help your machines run more efficiently and give you more by underpinning cutting-edge technologies with seamless connectivity. Identify areas to reduce waste, energy usage and your carbon footprint. You could become an even more attractive and forward-thinking business—and make your way toward a greener manufacturing ecosystem.

At Verizon, we’re proud to have pledged that 100% of our total electricity consumption will be backed by renewable energy by 2030. We’ve also signed up to The Climate Pledge, which is focused on achieving The Paris Agreement 10 years ahead of schedule.

Let’s co-innovate and enable sustainability-centred wins across your facilities and machinery. We’ve worked with many manufacturers to help them put sustainability at the forefront of their business. Our industry experts have decades of experience, so they can  provide practical and effective advice. Our global network, computing and security expertise and extensive ecosystem can help you put ideas into practice. 

We’re as committed as you are to reducing our impact on the planet. We can help you de-risk transformation, reduce your carbon footprint and achieve the promise of Industry 4.0—while helping to minimise the cost to the earth or compromising business-as-usual.