How to Take Your Manufacturing Company into a More Sustainable Direction

Julie Starr • February 25, 2022



When it comes to sustainability in the manufacturing industry, there are a lot of things to think about. From reducing energy consumption and waste production to ensuring that your products are environmentally friendly and recyclable, there are many ways to make your manufacturing company more sustainable. This blog post will discuss some of the most important steps you can take to make your manufacturing business more sustainable. You’ll also find some tips on how to get started!

#1 Evaluate your manufacturing process

The first step to making your manufacturing company more sustainable is to take a close look at how you’re currently operating. Are there any areas where you could be more efficient? For example, are there ways to reduce energy consumption or waste production? Once you’ve identified some areas for improvement, you can start working on making changes.

If you’re not sure where to start, there are plenty of resources available online that can help you assess your manufacturing process and identify areas for improvement. One helpful resource is the EPA’s Energy Star program, which provides guidance and resources for businesses looking to improve their energy efficiency.

#2 Implement energy-saving measures

Once you’ve identified areas for improvement, it’s time to start implementing some energy-saving measures. There are a number of ways to do this, and the options will vary depending on your manufacturing process. Some common energy-saving measures include:

  • Installing LED lighting
  • Upgrading to more efficient machinery or equipment
  • Replacing older appliances with newer models that are more energy-efficient
  • Making changes to your production process to reduce energy consumption

By implementing just a few of these measures, you can make a big difference in terms of reducing your company’s energy consumption. And since electricity is one of the most expensive costs for manufacturers, reducing your use can save you a lot of money in the long run.

If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to energy-saving measures, there are plenty of resources and guides available online. The Department of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program offers a range of resources for businesses looking to improve their energy efficiency, including case studies, best practices, and technical assistance.

#3 Reduce waste production

In addition to reducing energy consumption, another important way to make your manufacturing company more sustainable is to reduce waste production. This can be done in a number of ways, including:

  • Reducing packaging and shipping materials
  • Recycling or repurposing scrap materials
  • Converting waste products into new products
  • Implementing green logistics practices

All of these measures can help you reduce the amount of waste your company produces, which will not only save you money but also help protect the environment. In addition, there are a number of resources and programs available to help businesses reduce their waste production. For example, the EPA’s WasteWise program offers resources and assistance for businesses looking to implement waste reduction programs.

#4 Use environmentally friendly materials and processes

One of the best ways to make your manufacturing company more sustainable is to use environmentally friendly materials and processes when Vacuum forming your products. This not only helps protect the environment but can also save you money in terms of reduced energy consumption and waste production. There are a number of different ways to go about using environmentally friendly materials and processes, so it’s important to find one that will work for your business. Some common options include:

  • Switching to biodegradable or compostable materials
  • Using recycled or reclaimed materials
  • Using renewable energy sources such as solar or wind power
  • Implementing green chemistry practices

All of these measures can help reduce the environmental impact of your manufacturing process. And by using environmentally friendly materials and processes, you can also improve your company’s reputation and attract new customers. Sustainability is an important consideration for any business, but it’s especially critical for manufacturers. By making a few simple changes, you can take your manufacturing company in a more sustainable direction and help protect the environment while saving money in the process.

#5 Educate your employees

One of the best ways to make your manufacturing company more sustainable is to educate your employees about sustainability and how they can help. This includes educating them on the importance of reducing energy consumption , waste production, and using environmentally friendly materials and processes. There are a number of ways to do this, including:

  • Holding workshops or training sessions on sustainability
  • Creating an online resource center with information on sustainability measures
  • Including sustainability topics in employee training programs

By educating your employees about sustainability, you can help them understand how they can contribute to making their company more sustainable. And by involving your employees in the process, you’ll create a team of advocates who will be instrumental in helping you achieve your sustainability goals. This will allow your company to move into a more sustainable direction much quicker seeing as everyone will be working together towards the same goal.

#6 Partner with other companies that practice sustainability

Another great way to make your manufacturing company more sustainable is to partner with other companies that practice sustainability. This can help you learn from their best practices and also improve your company’s reputation as well as get the word out there about your business’ new sustainable stamp. There are a number of ways to find companies that practice sustainability, including:

  • Searching online directories such as Green Business Network
  • Attending trade shows or conferences focused on sustainable manufacturing
  • Asking suppliers if they practice sustainability

By partnering with other companies that practice sustainability, you can learn from their example and take your own business in a more sustainable direction.

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for businesses, especially manufacturers. There are several simple changes you can make to take your manufacturing company in a more sustainable direction. By reducing energy consumption, waste production, and using environmentally friendly materials and processes, you can save money while helping to protect the environment. And by educating your employees and partnering with other companies that practice sustainability, you can further improve your company’s reputation and bottom line.

 

Smart Sensors, Smarter Supply Chains: Enhancing Traceability in Food & Beverage

By Julie Starr • June 20, 2025
In today’s competitive food and beverage (F&B) landscape, traceability is no longer a compliance checkbox—it’s a differentiator. The ability to track every step of a product’s journey, from origin to shelf, is vital for regulatory accuracy and to ensure brand integrity, supply chain agility, and consumer trust. Add smart sensors to the mix: the quiet, tireless observers revolutionizing supply chain intelligence. Traceability Has a Data Problem Despite digitization across many F&B operations, most traceability systems still rely on fragmented or manual data inputs. Batch numbers, barcodes, and handwritten logs often stand between a supplier and clarity when things go wrong. This approach struggles with latency and scale. When contamination or delays occur, root cause analysis is slow, costly, and damaging. Smart sensors shift this paradigm by embedding real-time, contextual intelligence into every stage of the supply chain . Whether monitoring humidity in transit or recording fill-level precision in bottling plants, they remove the guesswork by turning physical conditions into structured, time-stamped data. From Passive Monitoring to Active Optimization Sensors used to be reactive tools, alerting operators to anomalies. But smart sensors now play a proactive role in process control. They measure, and they interpret. For example, temperature sensors embedded in cold chain logistics can dynamically adjust cooling systems or flag threshold breaches before spoilage occurs. These advancements reduce waste and loss at a systemic level. In a production facility, smart sensors integrated with PLCs can enforce recipe compliance, verify clean-in-place processes, and detect micro-stoppages in real-time. This enables operations to pivot faster and isolate inefficiencies before they cascade downstream. Trust is Built on Transparency Consumers are paying more attention to what they eat and drink. They’re looking beyond labels, expecting visibility into how ingredients are sourced, processed, and handled. Smart sensors make this level of transparency achievable —without burdening manufacturers with excessive manual oversight. By capturing metadata throughout production and distribution, these sensors create a digital footprint that’s tamper-resistant and instantly accessible. When this data is integrated with a central platform, brands can respond confidently to audits, recalls, and quality assurance challenges with a level of precision that would be impossible through legacy systems. Intelligence Without Infrastructure Overhaul One common misconception is that adding smart sensors requires a top-down reinvention of supply chain infrastructure. In reality, companies can deploy edge sensors in a modular, scalable way. Many modern solutions offer plug-and-play functionality, allowing for fast integration with existing machinery and MES systems. This is where suppliers like alps-machine.com are reshaping expectations. Rather than pushing proprietary ecosystems, they design sensor-ready equipment with interoperability in mind. This future-proofs investment and keeps businesses nimble in the face of regulatory or market shifts. Designing for Data Longevity Sensors are only as powerful as the context they capture. A smart implementation ensures the data collected can be standardized, stored securely, and accessed meaningfully across departments. This means moving beyond local dashboards toward centralized, queryable datasets that inform everything from supplier contracts to marketing claims. As AI and predictive analytics become more accessible, these data-rich environments will unlock new capabilities—such as predicting demand spikes based on real-time freshness indicators or adjusting production schedules dynamically based on in-transit sensor feedback. Final Thoughts: Smarter Isn’t Optional Traceability isn’t solved by more paperwork—it’s solved by embedded intelligence. Smart sensors don’t just help businesses know what happened; they help prevent the wrong things from happening at all. For companies in the food and beverage sector, adopting smart sensors is less about chasing innovation and more about enabling resilience, speed, and confidence in every decision.

Eco-Friendly Garden Prep: Summer Tips for a Greener Business Space

By Julie Starr • June 5, 2025
If you're lucky enough to have a garden as part of your business, taking some time to set it up for summer is a great investment of your energy. Not only will it be ready for your customers to spend time in, but you can also incorporate some eco-friendly elements into it. Many people just think about the property and what eco-friendly updates they can make , but there are plenty that you can implement in your garden. This gives you the best of both worlds. You own a sacred and beautiful place for your customers to spend their summer, and at the same time, you can do your part for a better planet. If this is the route you want to take, then you also need to consider how to do this with the different seasons. To help you on your journey, here are some top tips for preparing your garden for summer. Plant trees and flowers Planting trees and flowers in your garden is a must. It will make a beautiful scene of nature for everyone to enjoy. Trees will provide people and animals with shade, as well as provide a habitat for wildlife. More trees are needed in the world because they purify the air that we breathe. Flowers, especially if you plant with pollinators in mind, can be an excellent way to attract bees and butterflies, which contribute largely to the earth. Use natural pest control When preparing your garden for summer, you can do this more sustainably and kindly by using natural pest control. Simply by planting trees and flowers, you are likely to attract lots of different wildlife, some of which may destroy your efforts. While all wildlife should be considered, you may need to take measures. Some better and more eco-friendly ways you can do this, as opposed to spraying toxic chemicals onto your plants and into the air, you can implement companion planting, using protective nets over your crops, choosing resilient plants, using natural repellents, and encouraging natural predators so nature can do its thing. Maintain your garden Maintaining your garden in itself can make it more eco-friendly. Composting your garden waste regularly, and kitchen waste can help you to reduce overall waste and create nutrient-rich soil. This is a great cycle of sustainability. You can also keep on top of things that need cleaning and replacing, so you can recycle the materials for other garden structures and projects, and repurpose things around your garden before they become waste. If you have features in your garden like a swimming pool, then a regular pool maintenance service is going to be vital in keeping your water consumption to a minimum, as when it is cleaned and maintained, it will need to be drained and refilled less as well as using less energy. You could also consider how you can use natural purification methods to reduce chemical usage and support biodiversity right in your backyard. Your garden is just an eco-friendly project waiting to be built. Use these top tips to help you get started.