The manufacture of goods is an important way to provide jobs, build-up communities, and spark innovation. To be truly great in your manufacturing, though, your company must consider its environmental impact to ensure that future generations have the same opportunities that the current generation do. By thinking through your facility’s processes, you will be able to find ways to help the planet breathe a little easier.
Facility Power Sources
A typical manufacturing facility requires significant amounts of power to operate effectively. Unfortunately, much of this power often comes from non-renewable resources that release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere when they’re burned. To help turn the tide on climate change, it makes sense to invest in various types of renewable energy to help power your facility. The good news is that an investment in renewable energy can help pay for itself as you enjoy lower utility costs.
Recyclable Materials
Even with exacting procedures in place, your facility is bound to produce waste. What you do with that waste says a lot about your company’s culture. By finding ways to responsibly recycle as much waste as possible, you can help protect the environment and build relationships with local vendors to help serve the community. Copper recycling, for example, is a significant boon to local recycling companies given the stable cost of the metal over time.
Choose Sustainably Sourced Products
As much as possible, the consumable products that you use in your manufacturing facility should be obtained from a sustainable source. Everything from boxes to paper towels to gloves can be sustainably sourced so that you don’t use virgin resources to keep your company afloat. By ordering in bulk, you may be able to obtain some or all of these products at a price similar to those made from non-sustainable components.
Improve Insulation
In many manufacturing facilities, very little thought is given to proper insulation. After all, insulation adds complexity and expense to a construction project, meaning that it’s often less expensive to simply operate HVAC units to compensate for the lack of insulation. By performing an energy audit on your facility, you may discover that there are simple ways to improve your facility’s insulation so that you can greatly reduce the amount of energy you use. If you can find cost-effective ways to make your facility more comfortable, you could stand to save a significant amount of money in the long term.
So often in manufacturing, every decision is made based on the efficiency of the manufacturing process. However, while efficiency is vital to maintain a successful facility, environmental-friendliness should be an important consideration, as well. Therefore, even if other facility directors aren’t making sustainable decisions, it’s important to stand out from the crowd to make decisions that will protect the environment for future generations.
Anica is a professional content and copywriter who graduated from the University of San Francisco. She loves dogs, the ocean, and anything outdoor-related. You can connect with Anica on Twitter @AnicaOaks.
