2 A Third Say COVID-19 Has Increased Leadership Focus on Sustainability

  Q: What effect has the COVID-19 pandemic had on
your leadership team’s focus on sustainability and
Net Zero initiatives?

3 A Third Have Already Announced
Net Zero Targets

  Q: Has your company publicly announced a Net
Zero decarbonization target?

4 A Third Aim to Reach Net Zero Within 15 Years

  Q: What is the timeframe for achieving
this Net Zero target?

5 50% Now Have Formal Corporate-wide Sustainability Strategies in Place

Q: How are your company’s sustainability / Net Zero
initiatives organized and deployed?

6 Corporate-wide Sustainability Policies Cover Increasing Number of Key Criteria

Q: Does your company’s approach include specific
policies, codes of conduct, or goals covering the following sustainability / Net Zero criteria? (All that apply)

7 Over 60% Now Have
Dedicated Sustainability Team

Q: Does your company have a dedicated team or function tasked to drive corporate sustainability / Net Zero initiatives?

8 Reputation, Environment, and Corporate Values Are Driving Change

Q: What are your company’s primary motivations for embracing sustainable/Net Zero practices? (All that apply)

9 C-Suite and Customers Have
Most Influence on Manufacturing Sustainability Strategies

Q: To what extent do the following groups influence your sustainability / Net Zero strategy?

Part 2: SUSTAINABILITY PROGRESS

10 40% Have Already Made Significant Progress in Sustainability Over Last 5 Years

Q: Compared to five years ago, how would you characterize your company’s sustainability / Net Zero progress and achievements so far?

11 Manufacturing Activities Lead; Partner Compliance and Logistics Lag

Q: In which of the following corporate activities do you feel you have made the most significant progress in achieving your sustainability goals so far? (Top 3)

12 Over Half Now Have Formal Goals/Metrics for Energy, Materials, and Waste

  Q: In your manufacturing and production activities specifically, which of the following areas have specific sustainability goals/metrics?  (All that apply)

Part 3: M4.0 & SUSTAINABILITY

13 Over 50% Believe M4.0 Will Be Significant to Reaching Sustainability Targets By 2030

Q: How important will Manufacturing 4.0 technologies
be to achieving your company’s sustainability and
Net Zero goals by 2030?

14 AR/VR, AI, and 5G Technologies Expected to Have Most Sustainability Impact by 2030

Q: Which of the following M4.0 technologies are already having the most impact on achieving your Sustainability / Net Zero goals today and which do you feel will have the most impact by 2030?

Part 4: The CIRCULAR INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY

15 81% Believe Circular Economy Approaches Will Increasingly Impact Manufacturing

Q: Looking forward, how impactful do you think the concept of a regenerative Circular Industrial Economy — where traditional ‘Take, Make Dispose’ approaches increasingly give way to ‘Refurbish, Reuse, Recycle’ approaches — will be to the future of manufacturing?

16 Recycling Increasing, But Significant Room for Improvement in Sustainable Product Design

Q: During your product design and development process, which of the following are formal design criteria related to product end-of-life? (All that apply)

17 30% Now Provide Programs to Return Products to Recycling Partner at End-of-Life

Q: Which of the following programs or processes does your company have in place that support product returns/end-of-life activities? (All that apply)

Part 5: SOCIETAL RESPONSIBILITY

18 87% Believe Manufacturing
Has a Special Responsibility to Society
to Become More Sustainable

Q: Due to the nature of manufacturing, with its use of raw materials and often complex production processes, do you think the industry has a special responsibility to society to become more sustainable and accelerate the transition to a future circular industrial economy?

Survey development was led by Paul Tate, with input from the MLC editorial team and the MLC’s Board of Governors.