Sustainability is a critical concern for manufacturing facilities today, driven by both growing customer demand for environmental responsibility and the cost savings that come from adopting eco-friendly practices.

Technology linked to the world of automation provides numerous opportunities for system integrators in mechanical, plant engineering and manufacturing. The goal is to optimise processes, infrastructures, and systems with a focus on sustainability by improving efficiency and reducing direct and indirect energy and material consumption.

Take sensors, for example. Adopting sensors and IIoT opens up the possibility to collect and process data which allows the monitoring of all aspects of industrial production, from environmental parameters to consumption, and management of the logistics chain down to the last mile.

However, efficiency can also be tackled at other points along the production line. In drive systems, for instance, solutions featuring low compressed air or energy consumption, greater precision, variable frequency and speed control (VFDs), as well as strategies that respond to actual production needs, all lead to less energy-intensive lines.

Modularity and flexibility, combined with route optimisation and weight reduction are also central in factory 4.0 solutions such as automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and cobots and bring greater cost-effectiveness in terms of energy consumption, components, and materials.

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