What is the impact of sustainable manufacturing?

In the last few years, sustainable manufacturing has been emerging as a buzzword among corporate enterprises. You might have heard the management of several leading business enterprises talking about taking positive and imperative actions towards sustainable manufacturing. However, it is not a singular activity that an enterprise can decide upon and act on in a single night. It is a process that demands elaborate planning and well-designed strategies to sketch out a path and organise resources to execute those strategies.

A business enterprise that decides to go for sustainable products must include it as one of its visions. Only then would it be able to incorporate it in all its domains. A business enterprise can hope for a positive impact only if sustainable manufacturing is a part of every domain, starting from ideation, research, development of products, operations, sales, marketing finance, and IT management.

Another aspect of the process of innovation for sustainable development is that it must be continuous. An enterprise cannot just follow the path of sustainable manufacturing for a few quarters and wait for another few before resuming the process. The strategies planned for sustainable development must be active all the time for visible impact. The management must also keep in mind that the results of sustainable development might not be perceivable instantly, but will pay off in the long run.

The most significant impact of an enterprise undertaking this process is gaining a competitive advantage globally. Since, at this moment, very few large corporations or sustainable companies have seriously thought about sustainable manufacturing, any enterprise that ventures into it would be considered one of the pioneers in its segment. They would cause the rise of the value indices of the enterprise and every brand which represents it. 

Secondly, it provides the employees with a larger purpose, which keeps them highly motivated. It increases the factor of belongingness among employees. It positively affects the productivity and profitability of the enterprise. 

Lastly, it is used to create novel and valuable products that can provide the enterprise with a new identity. Hence, sustainable manufacturing can lead an enterprise to create mini-inventions and creative product development, leading it to set the base for new markets in the future.