By adopting sustainable manufacturing principles, a company can not only do its part in protecting the environment but also become more competitive and efficient, and thus increase its profitability.

Sustainable manufacturing is not just a trend anymore, manufacturers all around the world now understands the short-term, as well as long-term financial benefits of going completely green. Hence, a number of companies are embracing it wholeheartedly.

Now, in order for a company to be sustainable, it has to apply sustainability to its entire logistics and production process, it cannot just focus on one department/area, and call itself sustainable. For instance, a company manufacturing a product out of recycled goods. The company is taking the holistic approach here, however, it must also ensure that the raw materials that it purchased from another company, maybe from an overseas company, was made or extracted the 'green way', and was shipped adhering to the sustainable principles as well.

Following are some of the benefits of sustainable manufacturing.

Attract environmentally conscious customers and increase sales

Like stated earlier, adopting sustainable practices is not just a trend anymore. More companies are going the 'sustainable' way. More customers/consumers are taking environmental protection more seriously. A number of prominent companies will do business with you only if you are manufacturing products in a sustainable way. A good number of people will buy your products only if they are absolutely sure that the products were made adhering to the 'green' principles. So, if you embrace sustainable manufacturing, more customers will come, which will increase your sales, and thus your profit.

The rise of social media has made it a lot easier for people to spread the word whether a particular manufacturer is being environmental-friendly or harming the environment with their manufacturing methods. Depending on your manufacturing practices, you can get good publicity or bad publicity. Also, most of the governments are nowadays taking the 'green' approach as well. So, if you are looking for a government contract, being a sustainable manufacturer will definitely boost your chances of getting the contract.

Reduce the expenses related to energy

There is a lot of energy-efficient lighting available in the market today. Installing them in your company will help to reduce the energy bills significantly. Depending on your production schedule, you may adjust the usage and levels of lighting. Inspecting the equipment installed in your facility on a regular basis will help you to find issues, such as air compressor leaks, and so on, at the right time, and thus reduce energy wastage. Innovative packaging methods will help you to save storage space in your facility. Embracing wind and solar energy can go a long way in saving energy. You will be able to save on the supply costs by adopting a paperless policy and recycling.

There are a number of tax benefits for companies taking the sustainable approach proactively. They can put it into their R&D department, and come up with innovative ways to further make their operations, sustainable.

A number of UK manufacturers have already taken the sustainable way. It is the British Plastics Federation that is leading the way. The United Kingdom really understands how sustainability applies to an industrial material. Environmental organizations such as the Natural Step, the Forum for the Future and the NNFCC have always collaborated with the industries in the country to make their operations 'greener'.