Sustainable Manufacturing Boosts Bottom Line, Study Says

ARC Advisory Group Inc., Dedham, Mass., recently announced a new strategy report that summarizes the major environmental and business benefits that can be gained by implementing sustainable manufacturing practices. According to the report, in addition to reducing a manufacturer’s environmental footprint, these practices can help reduce energy and raw material costs, reduce risk, reduce costs associated with future carbon or other emissions taxes, improve public image, and increase customer acceptance.

“Sustainable manufacturing is as much about improving business performance as it is about being environmentally responsible, since the two clearly go hand in hand,” said Greg Gorbach, the report’s author, and vice president of collaborative manufacturing at ARC. “In the future, a company’s market valuation will be directly tied to how well that company has mastered sustainable manufacturing practices.”

“There’s no question in my mind that manufacturing executives around the globe understand the importance of operating their enterprises in a more environment- and resource-friendly manner, not just for the future success of their companies, but also for the health and well-being of future generations,” said Andy Chatha, ARC president and founder. “Unfortunately, while some companies have actually begun to implement sustainable manufacturing practices, often this is being done in a piecemeal manner. Many other companies are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach. Part of the problem is a lack of relevant information and functional models that apply to real-world manufacturing environments.

Jump starter

“Our focus at ARC today, is to fill this information void and help manufacturers better understand how today’s advanced automation technology, information technology, and management approaches can be applied in a cohesive manner to help jump start their sustainable manufacturing efforts,” Chatha said.

ARC’s Strategy Report, “Sustainable Manufacturing: Remaking Today’s Manufacturing Enterprise for Tomorrow’s Economy,” is directed at executives in both the process and discrete manufacturing industries. Readers can download a copy of the 40-page report at no charge from the ARC website atwww.arcweb.com/res/forumorl.

A related ARC Advisory Group strategy report, “Understanding the Kyoto Protocol,” is also available. This report was authored by Steve Clouther, ARC vice president of Enterprise Applications. For more information about either report, or to learn more about ARC’s upcoming, “Best Practices for Sustainable Manufacturing Forum,” Feb. 2-5, 2009 in Orlando, Florida, readers can contact ARC Advisory Group at 781-471-1000 or visit the company’s Web site.

ARC Advisory Group Inc.
www.arcweb.com