3 Ways Manufacturers Can Reduce Carbon Emissions

Changing manufacturing processes, leveraging digital technology, and diversifying away from fossil fuel power are key to reducing carbon emissions in the manufacturing sector, according to a new report out by MIT Insight and Schneider Electric.

The report looks at specific examples of how manufacturers are tackling the issue of sustainability and making operational changes to realize their carbon reduction commitments.

It says that there are three main “levers” that manufacturers have at their disposal to decarbonize:  

Lever #1: Adopt cleaner sources of energy to fuel operations and reduce fossil fuel use

Example: American car manufacturer GM expects to power its largest North American facility exclusively by solar energy by the end this year and have all its US sites running on renewable energy by 2025. By the end of 2019, it already had 23 sites in the US running off renewable energy.  

Lever #2: Implement Digital Tools (such as IoT and data analytics) to improve equipment maintenance and increase process efficiency

Example: Global food manufacturer Nestle is installing IoT sensors on energy intensive equipment at over 500 of its facilities that will allow it to monitor water, gas and energy consumption in real time.

According to José Luis Buela Salazar, Nestle’s eurozone maintenance manager, the company expects that the insights generated from these sensors will help Nestle lower energy consumption by 5% in 2023.

“Integrating all this data with IoT and machine learning will allow us to see what we have not been able to see to date,” he says, quoted in the report.

Lever #3: Create new manufacturing processes that reduce raw material use and/or decrease machine use

Example: Rolled-steel processor firm Castrip Industries has created a new manufacturing process that reduces C02 emissions by 80-90% over conventional methods.

The company removed rollers and other production processes that are common to create a process that “pours liquid steel through a single rolling mill only 50 meters long,” according to the report.

This innovation allows the process to be carried out in smaller facilities with less energy consumed and heat generated, thus reducing overall carbon emissions.  

Interested in learning more?

If you’re tasked with reducing emissions in your operations, join us at Decarbonizing America's Industrial Sector, taking place at the Palm Springs Convention Center September 13-15, 2022. Join over 200 of your industry peers as they forge their pathway to Net Zero. Find out more about the event here.