Schlauer Raum Blog

A model for more sustainability is available

Discussions about sustainability in production environments usually lead to topics such as sustainable power supply, electricity savings and waste disposal. But the greatest potential lies elsewhere.

Circular Economy as a sustainable business model of the future

The fact is: It is our social responsibility to pay attention to issues such as environmental protection and sustainability. And not only as a private person, but above all, as a manufacturing company.

Or do you want to be accused at some point of having contributed to the negative side of the environmental balance? Greenwashing was yesterday. Today is about the future. It is time for a sustainable business model.

Thinking from the end to beginning

The big question remains: what to do? The answer: a sustainable use of resources in the sense of the circular economy. This economic model is based on the creation of closed product cycles, in which the return, recycling, reprocessing or reuse of products or materials is encouraged.

This not only conserves natural resources, but also reduces environmental pollution and increases the service life of products and materials. As a result, companies not only act more sustainably, but also much more efficiently.

Data management as a basis

With the Circular Economy approach, companies take a full view of their resources. This consistent end-to-end approach not only enables a sustainable use of resources, but also offers the opportunity for a new business model.

The basis for successful implementation lies in the use of data that has been in the company for a long time – but perhaps is not yet being used properly. By collecting and analyzing all the data of the product life cycle, optimization can be made in the right places: For example in the planning of resource use, supply chain management or recycling management.

Rethinking to make a profit

Re-use, recycling, repair, upgrading and up-cycling can better balance market fluctuations by more efficiently interlinking product cycles and the resources used.

In addition, the planning for the use of human resources and the supply chain can be optimized through a comprehensive, clearly structured data management. The product is no longer considered piece by piece in its life cycle, but integrated – with all its connections and beyond the actual life cycle.

The future must be green

Of course, changes are not possible overnight. But it is important to think about tomorrow, today. A sustainable production approach not only makes an important contribution to greater environmental awareness, but also ensures the future viability of companies.

The future of production is digital, and data is considered to be the blood in the veins of a company. With the right data management, it is precisely this data together with the right data management that serves up a sustainable, profitable production approach on a silver platter. Companies only need to seize the opportunity. And definitely should. Because making a contribution to more sustainability is the responsibility of all of us.

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