Industry is one of the economic activities that has the greatest impact on the environment.
In 2020, more than 90% of biodiversity loss was related to the extraction and treatment of resources by the industrial sector. In Spain in particular, industrial activity generated 41 million tons of waste (Waste Account. INE, 2020).
These data have promoted modernization plans and strategies in the industry towards a transformation, which are based on concrete actions to improve efficiency not only environmentally, but also socially and economically.
In this article we explain 7 actions to make your industrial company more sustainable in these areas.
Sustainable actions in the industrial sector
It is evident that one of the most important challenges for the industry is to struggle against the effects of climate change, without abandoning high performance production.
That is why many of the actions are associated with a process of digitization and implementation of new technologies, bringing us closer to Smart Factories, which make use of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to achieve maximum efficiency and profitability.
Some of the actions that your industrial company can carry out to be more sustainable are the following:
1. Use renewable energies
Promoting the transition to renewable energies is one of the sector’s greatest challenges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In this sense, the installation of photovoltaic panels is providing the capacity to reduce external dependencies, while contributing to the use of energy at a lower cost.
2. Control energy consumption in plants and offices
Using IoT technologies and smart sensors helps to control energy consumption in both production plants and offices. Digitization offers real-time control and monitoring of consumption, which encourages responsibility for energy expenditure through different applications such as intelligent air conditioning systems, occupancy sensors, or lighting controlled by motion sensors, among others.
3. Extending the life of assets
To reduce production failures and extend the life of assets, it is necessary to avoid incidents through predictive maintenance. Artificial Intelligence makes it possible to maintain quality controls and anticipate possible equipment failures, thanks to exhaustive control and early detection of anomalies, based on predictive analysis.
4. Waste management
As part of the waste policy and the promotion of the circular economy, promoted by the 2030 Agenda Goals, it is necessary for Industry 4.0 to propose actions to minimize production waste. Another advantage of digitalization is that it allows waste to be managed in a circular and intelligent way, connecting different parts of the production process and avoiding waste.
5. Optimize industrial production
Technologies such as Machine Learning (based on Artificial Intelligence), combined with tools such as MES (Manufacturing Execution System), make it possible to optimize industrial production through centralized control. By means of intelligent sensorization, the necessary data is extracted to know in real time the state of production, anticipating possible incidents, outages or wastage, and improving the effectiveness of equipment (OEE).
In addition, the application of Deep Learning to Industry 4.0 makes it possible to recognize new parts within the production process, ensure the security of sensitive data, or control production factors, among others.
6. Efficient resource management
This action aims to reduce energy waste and save costs. It is now possible to digitally monitor and control both production and administrative resources. Managing electricity, water and gas supplies from a single platform, and even influencing the supply chain when necessary to optimize resources, is now possible with new technologies.
7. Promote environmental education
These technology-based actions must be complemented with sustainable behavior, training and raising awareness on the part of employees. In this way, responsible environmental education can be promoted, making it possible for the industry to adapt to the so-called Decade of Action.
Centralize the sustainable actions of your industrial company.
Digitizing your industrial company is key to achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda and having a vision of the future focused on economic, environmental and social sustainability.
But, beyond the sustainability section, initiating a digital transformation in your company with a state-of-the-art tool has great competitive advantages.
Nexus Integra is the integrated operations platform that allows companies to carry out their digital transformation, making them more sustainable, efficient and optimized. It comprehensively manages all industrial production from a single platform and in real time. Contact us, our team will advise you without obligation so that you can implement Nexus Integra in your business.
