All
Suppliers
Products
CAD Models
Diverse Suppliers
Insights
By Category, Company or Brand
All Regions
Alabama
Alaska
Alberta
Arizona
Arkansas
British Columbia
California - Northern
California - Southern
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Manitoba
Maryland
Massachusetts - Eastern
Massachusetts - Western
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Brunswick
New Hampshire
New Jersey - Northern
New Jersey - Southern
New Mexico
New York - Metro
New York - Upstate
Newfoundland & Labrador
North Carolina
North Dakota
Northwest Territories
Nova Scotia
Nunavut
Ohio - Northern
Ohio - Southern
Oklahoma
Ontario
Oregon
Pennsylvania - Eastern
Pennsylvania - Western
Prince Edward Island
Puerto Rico
Quebec
Rhode Island
Saskatchewan
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas - North
Texas - South
Utah
Vermont
Virgin Islands
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Yukon

Sustainability Happens When People and Innovation Collide

Staff Writer
8/21/2020 | 5 min read
Subscribe
Sustainability Happens When People and Innovation Collide

People are the heart of innovation. For America’s manufacturing economy to thrive it needs a talented workforce, but one that also understands that a fourth dimension of competitiveness now exists. Companies compete not only on price, quality, and speed to market. They now also compete on their ability to address and solve complex sustainability challenges.

People are the glue that binds ingenuity and technology to create innovations that have a sustainable (economic, environmental, and social) impact. Businesses that embrace sustainability within their culture are more apt to integrate (and capitalize on) the potential of their people with the opportunities in the external market.

Without the passion, power, commitment, and accountability of people, the equation for sustainability simply will not add up. People are the continuity between machines and products, policies and programs, performance, and results. People embody the business culture and enable the organizations to work as an ecosystem of interrelated requirements. If the ecosystem is not in balance the organization suffers.

What differentiates this culture from other companies is the quality of care, compassion, and personal attention that goes into the delivery of benefits to each employee. Management has embraced an attitude of care which enables employees the "freedom to operate.” Knowing that someone "has their back” enables employees to be innovative, take reasonable risks, and grow into their positions by utilizing their highest and best talents and skills.

By enabling its people to realize their full potential, businesses can create a loyal, hardworking, and innovative organization. So when questions of sustainability arise, employees ask how they get involved. This approach to create, support, and drive cultures of innovation within the manufacturing environment are akin to the cultures created at Google, Yahoo, Apple, and other leading-edge businesses.

Innovation Offers the Opportunity to Access New Markets

In addition to energy efficiency, management, and clean power generation initiatives, you must proactively explore environmentally benign, bio-based, and "more sustainable” product designs, materials, equipment, production methods, packaging, and logistics. To achieve success in its sustainability goals however, the company understands that it must manage its business risks and opportunities together with the needs of its customers and the daily demands upon financial resources. This ability to integrate people and machines in ways that have overcome challenges or spurred entirely new innovation with tangible business results is highlighted in its pursuit of metal injection molded parts.

By investing equally in the people side of the business as well as in new machines, Harbec has been able to integrate innovation and sustainability in ways that are truly unique and which differentiate the business and sharpen its competitive edge. The management of people is built upon trust and accountability. By fostering an environment where employees grow their careers based upon their highest utilization of their skills combined with an ongoing commitment to professional development, the business is able to retain its talent and position them for optimal success.

Putting the Pieces Together

While it is not there yet, "sustainable manufacturing” may very well become the new status-quo of the industrial world in the next decade. The reason for this is not grounded in altruistic points-of-view but in pragmatic business realities tied to competition and innovation. For more than 40 years manufacturers have embraced new paradigms for productivity (lean), quality (Six Sigma), and other ways to reduce costs, add value, and remain competitive.

A whole new world is being created through the lens of sustainability. It is not and will not be perfect, as humans are imperfect. However, what sustainability brings to the business mindset is an opportunity to incorporate more holistic and systems-level critical thinking to the challenges of the day. Sustainability offers a framework to identify, analyze, and prioritize the material issues that impact the business. In doing so the business has a more informed sense of which internal and external drivers may be most important to address first, second, third, and so on.

As you dig into sustainability the interconnectedness and interrelatedness of decisions, outcomes, and impacts become more transparent. As a result, over time the collective knowledge, logic, and IQ of individuals and organizations increases, reinforcing critical thinking and informed decision making.

As the transition to sustainable manufacturing has begun, it has been evident competing on price, quality, performance remain as top requirements of suppliers. However, the fourth dimension of sustainability has now also become a value-add differentiator for many businesses.

The development of a sustainable manufacturing enterprise does not happen at the press of a button or turn of a key. Rather, it is a long-term commitment to "manufacture sustainability” from within the leadership and culture of the business, and by continuously providing value to your customers, employees, investors, stakeholders, and community in ways which bridge your and their definition of success.

This article is part three of an exclusive three-part series intended to delve deeper into the dynamics of sustainable manufacturing, what it means, how it is achieved, and the value it can bring to the business enterprise and customers. It also covers the challenges and opportunities associated with creating a culture of sustainability in a manufacturing environment. See below for parts one and two.

Part 1: Sustainable Manufacturing Is Shaping America’s Industrial Future

Part 2: Using Operational Excellence to Achieve Sustainability and a Competitive Advantage

Mark Coleman is a business development manager for Harbec Inc. He is the author of the book The Sustainability Generation: The Politics of Change and Why Personal Accountability is Essential NOW!

Throughout his career, Mark has developed a strong focus on the critical areas of energy, environment, and sustainability. His career has spanned strategic and leadership positions in government, applied research, technology development, and management consulting organizations.  This rich and diverse experience has enabled him to have access to, engage, and work with a broad range of regional, national, and international leaders on the subject of sustainability.

Mark resides in Auburn, New York, with his wife, Aileen, and two sons, Owen and Neal.

Next Up in Industry Trends
DOE to Invest $1.5 Billion to Restore Michigan Nuclear Plant
Show More in Industry Trends