In supply chain management, environmental sustainabilityis no longer just a nice expression of awareness about environmental and social issues. It has become a real and essential value for success.

Sustainable production and distribution processes are recognized by stakeholders not only for ethical and productivity reasons but also for the benefits on economic-financial profitability, brand image, corporate well-being, and regulatory compliance.

More and more companies are preparing sustainability or ESG reports: some because it is legally required, others because they have chosen to objectively communicate all the commitments made in the field of corporate responsibility, as well as the goals already achieved.

To reduce the environmental impact of the manufacturing sector, many companies are adopting innovative technologies, strategies, and choices to improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions, and minimize waste.   

What should companies invest in to make supply chains more sustainable?

Technology

• Implementation of energy management systems to monitor and optimize energy consumption in production plants, warehouses, equipment, and transportation.
  
• Adoption of low-consumption engines, machinery, and equipment powered by clean energy and high efficiency.
• Development of digital models of production plants to simulate and optimize processes without making physical changes, reducing resource waste.
• Choosing technologies to calculate carbon footprint and reduce emissions from production, logistics, and transportation systems.
• Installation of CO₂ capture and storage systems (CCS) to absorb carbon emissions directly from industrial plants.
• Implementation of advanced filters and scrubbers to reduce fine dust and harmful gas emissions.
• Digitalization of paper documents and Blockchain for Sustainable Traceability to monitor and certify the sustainable origin of raw materials and production processes.

Strategy
Sustainability is also achieved through the transition of business models, such as the shift from linear economy models to circular economy models. Reducing the resources used, reusing products or materials, recovering components, and recycling resources are becoming increasingly important.

A survey by the Politecnico di Milano’s Contract Logistics Observatory revealed that 75% of companies are pursuing various strategies to develop circular economy initiatives.

Resources can come from company boundaries, closely related businesses, or other supply chains. Adopting a circular economy strategy is forward-thinking, as it mitigates financial risks associated with raw material price volatility, resource scarcity, and regulatory uncertainty, providing companies with a better competitive advantage to cope with production cost market fluctuations.

In this context, water resource management, particularly recycling and reusing wastewater to reduce potable water consumption in production processes and improve the quality of discharge water released into the environment, is also a relevant topic.


Innovation
Another important lever is seeking innovative and sustainable materials for both production and packaging, such as bioplastics and biodegradable materials that reduce the use of petroleum-based products.

Innovations also come from the use of renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic and solar thermal systems, wind energy, biomass, and cogeneration and trigeneration systems to simultaneously produce electricity, heat, and, if necessary, cold, improving overall energy efficiency.


What are the benefits of sustainability investments?
Investing in sustainability is not only an ethical choice but also a winning strategy for companies that want to improve their competitiveness and resilience. Adopting sustainable solutions offers numerous benefits, both economically and operationally, including:

• Recovery of margins and efficiency: adopting technologies that reduce consumption helps recover efficiency margins and lower costs.
  
• Continuous improvement: the need to address environmental challenges drives the manufacturing sector to evolve continuously.
• Diversification: finding new solutions and strategies to be more sustainable encourages companies to experiment with new industrial processes, making them flexible and ready for rapid market changes.
• Competitive advantage: sustainability can help companies become industry leaders and gain preferential treatment from regulators, customers, and investors.

Regardless of global political and economic contexts, choosing to improve efficiency by reducing the environmental impact of the supply chain is a win-win decision for all players in the supply chain.