How manufacturing companies can reduce carbon emissions to support global climate change commitments
Representing the Conference of the Parties, the COP, a summit of countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1994, is currently taking place in Glasgow for the 26th time (first week of November 2021). We are seeing more extreme weather events around the world - including heatwaves, floods and forest fires, naturally occurring events that are getting worse due to the effects of climate change. The past decade has been the warmest on record, and governments around the world agree that urgent action is needed.
While governments from around the world are under pressure to develop viable plans for the future, manufacturing companies will need to actively participate and contribute to reducing carbon emissions. Here are some areas where manufacturing companies can focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Here are some practices followed by my company Tecpacking (which is a major supplier of machinery and materials to the tea and coffee industry) that peer organizations can follow:
● Invest in high-quality machines and spare parts Investing in high-quality machines can extend the service life. This means very little waste and a positive impact on the environment. If you consider Tecpacking, the company takes quality very seriously and only sources its raw materials from recognized quality suppliers around the world. This results in very few failures of the Tecpacking machine, thus reducing waste over the life of the machine. This reduces carbon dioxide emissions and has a positive impact on the environment.
● Use multi-tasking machines Using fewer machines on a project will reduce the amount of energy required to produce materials or items, which has the dual benefit of reducing a business's energy costs and carbon emissions. It also means you will need fewer parts to install multiple machines. Example - the cutting process - traditionally performed by several machines in one solution.
● Maintaining Your Equipment Effectively Keeping your equipment and its components clean and free of debris is an essential step as this can seriously affect its efficiency. It is critical to have a process in place for a qualified technician to inspect your machine on a regular basis. Example - Tecpacking has a dynamic support team that helps customers around the world maintain their machines. This makes the machine more efficient with fewer breakdowns.
● Integrate sustainability into your supply chain Make sure your business sources raw materials from sustainable sources. If you source machinery and raw materials from an unsustainable business, you may still be indirectly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Making sustainability a key requirement in the bidding process, other companies should follow a similar approach. As one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gases, manufacturing can play an important role. By addressing the machinery and components your business uses, including how and where you source it, how you use it, and how you maintain it, you can reduce emissions to support important environmental causes.
