Half of UK manufacturers go digital to cut carbon

Nearly half of manufacturers plan to invest in digital technologies to lower their carbon footprint, says a survey by MakeUK.

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Government investment will be needed to improve this picture. Stephen Phipson, CEO of Make UK, highlighted the need for extra R&D tax relief for industrial decarbonisation equipment, and a Help to Grow Green tax credit to support sustainable manufacturing while labour and energy costs remained high.

But a 2021 study from the University of Leeds revealed that moving away from fossil fuels might be a struggle for some manufacturing sectors–steel, for example, accounts for 10% of all carbon emissions in the industrialised world, but is unlikely to have fully operational electric manufacturing technology until the 2040s.

With almost all companies now looking to cut carbon, a quarter of UK manufacturers believe new digital technologies are already having an impact on decarbonisation and boosting their ability to reach ambitious Net Zero targets–only a tenth believe it will have no impact on their progress towards Net Zero.

They also said digital tech had helped them cut water usage and material wastage, and 44% said digitalisation had been the no.1 driver of productivity improvements in their organisations, notably by tightening up production processes. 

62% of respondents who adopted digital technologies said it had saved them money on their energy bills, with over half saving £10,000-100,000 in the last year alone. Another 46% saved under £10,000 but said the savings were still significant.

The study also found manufacturers’ investment in digital tech is at an all-time high, with 24% saying they’ve already made major investments and another 23% planning to. 

44% of UK manufacturers said digitalisation was the best method for them to improve productivity. Favourite digital tools cited included supply chain management tools, data analytics, and automation of a wide range of business processes, including HR, finance, procurement, and the manufacturing process itself.

Nearly half of manufacturers plan to invest in digital technologies to lower their carbon footprint, says a survey by MakeUK.