November 2021 Volume 3

OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT

Conclusion Once youweed through themarketing and the ivory tower concepts, sustainability isn’t that complicated. We’ve been managing our impact on the environment for some time, and this is just a new way of managing those impacts. You can probably survive if you manage your sustainability defense well, but if you want to succeed, you’ll need to figure out how you use an effective offense as well. ■ About the authors Neil Webb and Corey Barnes-Covenant assist clients in the Americas in the arenas of energy and sustainability as part of Ramboll’s Management Consulting market. For more information, please reach out to them directly via email (Neil.Webb@ramboll.com, CBCovenant@ramboll.com), or visit linkedin.com/in/neilbwebb or linkedin.com/in/coreyabarnes

usually some interesting things that can help you operate better. Just like you look at your financial reports to see how to improve financially, sustainability reports can help make your operations more efficient and help you avoid unfortunate surprises from regulations or price changes. Lastly, B2B buyers are increasingly looking for sustainability in their selection of vendors. For example, OEMs, as customers/buyers of many parts, are pushing out sustainability targets themselves and looking to their supply chain to deliver. Earlier this year, Ford released their mandatory supplier code of conduct, which now includes the following section: Protect the environment: This includes complying with Ford’s environmental requirements and policies... minimizing their impact on climate change, aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement; striving toward carbon neutrality; using recycled and renewable materials in packaging; and utilizing materials with reduced toxicity in their manufacturing processes. These issues are becoming increasingly important for OEMs, and it’s just a matter of time until they start requesting 1) sustainability information through reporting and 2) reductions in sustainability impacts. You don’t want to lose that major account because these things aren’t in place. Once you feel like you are well protected against these changes, that’s where the fun starts: how can you use these to increase your business? Going on the Offensive Companies that win are always the companies that aren’t just satisfying customer needs; they are the ones that are looking into the future to understand what customers are going to want and planning accordingly. In sports, you don’t run to where the ball is now, you run to where the ball is going to be, and smart companies are doing this all the time. The same is true for sustainability. If you want to succeed, you need to know and plan for what is coming. For example, if you implement aggressive efficiency measures and reduce your cost, not only will you out-compete other companies in the marketplace, but you can then push for an "industry wide" energy efficiency or carbon reduction standards. You will meet this standard while your competition will struggle to adapt to the new marketplace. Considering the following. Back in the 1980s, Dupont was a leading manufacturer of CFCs. After they found higher margin alternatives, they pushed for regulation to phase out CFCs. Not only was this good for the environment (CFCs harm the ozone), but Dupont was able to corner the market for the product replacement before their competitors could catch up. This is the kind of effective offensive maneuver that offers "long term" sustainability to visionary companies. Companies that are first to move on sustainability targets (less fossil fuel use, less water use, fairer business practices) set the standard and can push the rest of the industry to perform better and clean up where others aren’t able to adapt.

Neil Webb

Corey Barnes-Covenant

Modern Foundations for Forging Hammers and Presses

gerbusa@gerb.com www.gerb.com/forging Call: 630-724-1660

FIA MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2021 51