The industrial revolution started in the era marked by an industry-wide shift from human labour to automatic operations through machinery and robotics. Although the revolution started more than one and a half centuries back, it is only in the past few decades that our output productivity has increased exponentially.
If we go at this pace without any change in the consumption process, we will soon consume most of our natural resources, such as fossil fuels, by 2050. But thankfully, business leaders from different corners of the industry are trying to change consumption patterns by adopting industrial sustainability. If we care about sustaining future generations on this planet, we need to look more into industrial sustainability.
What Is Industrial Sustainability?
At its core, industrial sustainability is amending the present industry consumption of natural resources so that the present consumption does not compromise future consumption. The main areas where industrial sustainability aims to make changes are the cost of production, the demand for products, and profit margins.
Industrial sustainability acknowledges that environmental pollution and depletion of natural resources are not just societal and political issues. The industry can also solve these problems by changing the way consumers demand certain products, the production efficiency, and even the core products themselves.
Industrial sustainability breaks the traditional industrial view. It suggests that to achieve growth at scale, new markets and products should be discovered while the cost of compliance should be absorbed. It builds a new view that businesses should adopt a holistic view of value creation in which sustainability is ingrained in market and product exploration.
Applications of Industrial Sustainability
Apart from the ethical point of view, business leaders make a case for industrial sustainability with the following applications:
● Policymakers generally lag behind the industry when making laws at the macro level. This happens because the industry seldom stops investing in creative ways to find profits. However, if the industry regulates itself with long-term business solutions such as industrial sustainability, policymakers will never have to curb profits by creating regulating laws.
● Investing in long-term solutions almost always increases customers' trust in businesses. Many industry leaders sustain their top positions by adopting long-term solutions before their competitors.
● Overconsumption of natural resources will inevitability result in high demand and low supply of natural resources. Therefore, businesses should adopt industrial sustainability to maintain their profit margins before such a situation arises.
A Few Limitations of Industrial Sustainability
At a conceptual level, the idea of industrial sustainability makes perfect sense. However, when it comes to implementing the idea on the real ground, businesses face the following limitations or setbacks:
● Technological advancement always proves to be a bottleneck for industrial sustainability. Some industries, such as the automotive industry, are adopting industrial sustainability at a very fast rate because of tech innovation. However, other industries, like the mining industry, are yet to see major innovations in their core processes.
● Key improvement areas such as cleaner production (CP) and pollution prevention (P2) require research and development. However, small businesses do not have the same resources as large businesses have for the costs involved in R&D for industrial sustainability.
● Many businesses who are ready to invest in industrial sustainability do not know where to begin with. Thankfully, many consultancies on industrial sustainability are emerging that help businesses get their sustainability plans right.
Creating A Beter Future with Industrial Sustainability
Industrial sustainability is a point of view for businesses that consider sustainability and profitability. Ultimately, industrial sustainability benefits businesses, consumers, and society at large.
Many businesses were already conscious of their impact on the environment. But their approach was fragmented and functional. Industrial sustainability pushes towards taking a more holistic approach as it includes high-level changes such as sustainable supply chains.