Sector insight: The state of sustainability in manufacturing

Last updated: 7th September 2017

This edie Insight report explores some of the key drivers, challenges and opportunities facing sustainability in UK manufacturing.

Britain is on the cusp of a low-carbon, resource-efficient manufacturing revolution. First, we had steam-powered mechanical production. Then, electricity spawned mass production. The advent of computers followed, and the beginnings of automation, with robots and machines replacing human workers on assembly lines.

Today, we enter an era of unprecedented technological change driven by rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and the ‘internet of things’. This is the era of ‘smart factories’ utilising big-data analytics and 3D printers to manufacture products faster and more efficiently than ever before. This is Industry 4.0.

But what does this systemic transformation look like through the lens of sustainability practitioners working within the manufacturing sphere? In this increasingly resource-constrained world, affected by the rising megatrends of climate change and population growth, how can manufacturers meet the needs of the many, while reducing environmental impacts and delivering social good?

This edie Insight report, in partnership with Centrica, seeks to answer all of these crucial questions by exploring the key drivers, challenges and opportunities facing sustainable business within the UK’s manufacturing sector.

Fill out the form on the left and click ‘READ THE REPORT’ to download the full pdf version of this edie Insight report.



N.B. The information contained in this entry is provided by the above supplier, and does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher


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