Schneider Electric, which specialises in digital transformation of energy management and automation, and Omdia, a technology research and advisory group, have released a report that suggests about half (48%) of industrial companies are not taking the steps needed to meet their sustainability targets.
What’s more, less than a third (30%) are actually on track to meet these targets.
The two companies claim to have conducted the research to better understand manufacturers’ sustainability goals and how far they have advanced in meeting them.
Schneider Electric exhibited some of its automation solutions at IntralogisteX 2022, which was co-located with Robotics and Automation 2022.
According to the pair, more than half (57%) of survey respondents hope to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with reduced energy consumption being a key factor for the majority of participants and 49% expecting improved performance and cost savings.
Schneider Electric and Omdia claim to have surveyed hundreds of industrial companies across a range of sectors and continents, including organisations of varying sizes.
From the research, industrial companies seem to have identified the five key technologies where improvement would affect their environmental credentials: automation, energy management systems, cloud technologies, supply chain tracking and sensors.
Some 54% of respondents are already using digital twin technology to make their sites greener, with more than 50% suggesting they will have deployed energy management and renewable energy systems within three years.
Other types of projects being pursued include environmental management and sustainability performance management.
Barbara Frei, executive vice president, industrial automation, at Schneider Electric, says: “The manufacturing industry is increasingly understanding the value of sustainability and efficiency targets.
“There is now clear evidence that valuing people and planet leads to greater profits.
“However, change will require an evolution of traditional thinking, making sustainability and wellbeing a central part of processes, hardware, software, and organisational culture to identify inefficiencies and waste.
“This is where the next generation of industry starts from.”
Moreover, almost a quarter (23%) of respondents named competing priorities as a barrier to sustainability goals, while cultural change was named by 19%.
However, more than three quarters (78%) suggested a driving force within the organisation was necessary and that a c-level executive was responsible for their company’s climate targets and initiatives.
