Navigating the Emissions Reporting Landscape: A Guide for Manufacturing Leaders 

Table of contents: 

1. Introduction

2. Background on the increasing pressure to report on and manage emissions

1. Pressure from above

2. Pressure from regulation

3. Pressure from your customers and competitors

4. New opportunities in US manufacturing

3. Emissions types and reporting approaches

1. Types of emissions tracking

2. Accounting for carbon

4. Suggested framework, tools, and recommendations for manufacturing leaders to navigate this new world

1. Manufacturers’ framework for navigating the carbon-conscious business landscape

2. Recommendations: Focus on the fundamentals, and look for win-wins

5. The road ahead: Emissions and the factory of the future

If you’re a CEO or senior leader of a manufacturing company, you’re likely hearing from your peers or team about increasing pressure to report on and reduce carbon emissions. 

Gone are the days of “sustainability” being a vague term that meant adding green to your logo. Now it’s about hard numbers. As large investors, regulators, and companies increasingly take a more quantified approach to Sustainability, carbon emissions are often center stage. Emissions reduction is also no longer solely about being green; it's increasingly both a business necessity and a strategic move that directly influences your bottom line.

And while the pressure to track emissions is greatest for large companies and investors, due to Scope 3 requirements it is also starting to trickle down in meaningful ways to midsize and smaller manufacturers. Manufacturers who supply to big companies are on the front lines, increasingly feeling the direct heat of these demands and the pressure is only likely to grow. 

In this white paper, we aim to support leaders in manufacturing companies of all sizes to understand and navigate the evolving landscape of carbon emissions reporting. 

Key takeaways for manufacturing leaders: 

1. Emissions reporting is quickly becoming a requirement of doing business for manufacturers of all sizes.

2. This new landscape creates both big risks and big opportunities. We suggest a framework for leaders to shape the right strategic approach for their business.

3. The sooner you adapt and build a strong strategy, the better you are positioned to succeed in this new reality.

Background on the increasing pressure on manufacturers to report on carbon emissions

Let’s start with background on how and why the pressure to report on carbon emissions is increasing, beginning with the investors. Over the last decade, a tidal wave of powerful investors globally have decided that climate change—its direct impacts, the perception of it, and regulation around it—is a significant risk. Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock - the world’s largest asset manager with over $8 trillion in assets - describes this sentiment in his 2022 Letter to CEOs:

“We focus on sustainability not because we’re environmentalists, but because we are capitalists and fiduciaries to our clients … As part of that focus, we are asking companies to set short-, medium-, and long-term targets for greenhouse gas reductions. These targets, and the quality of plans to meet them, are critical to the long-term economic interests of your shareholders. It’s also why we ask you to issue reports consistent with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD): because we believe these are essential tools for understanding a company’s ability to adapt for the future.”

Large institutional investors and investment associations are making big commitments to measure and reduce carbon emissions. The pace and scale of those commitments are accelerating and globally consequential, representing tens of trillions of dollars. For example: 

• In 2021, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) - supported by over 4,000 organizations and investors such as BlackRock representing $27 trillion in total - published guidance—now widely used—for companies to disclose their climate-related risks and opportunities. 

• In 2021, the Institutional Investors Group for Climate Change (IIGCC) - consisting of over 400 organizations worth more than $70 trillion - announced their net zero commitments to reduce scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions throughout their investment portfolios. 

• In 2023, Climate Action 100+, a group of over 700 investors with almost $70 trillion in assets, introduced new measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain; now, 75% of members are committed to net zero (up 15X from just <5% several years before).

• In 2023, leading Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) - including the European Investment Bank (EIB), World Bank, and other MDBs worth trillions - jointly agreed to curtail funds to companies that are not aligned with the Paris Agreement on climate. 

• In 2023, the membership of the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA), a group of over 70 asset owners with more than $10 trillion in assets, released concrete and specific commitments to achieve net-zero emissions across their portfolios by 2050, with many making specific interim commitments for as soon as 2025.

With the amount of capital these investors control, the impact of these commitments reverberates globally. And at the same time, more and more midsize and smaller investors are also now using sustainability investment criteria such as carbon emissions to assess investment decisions. As regulation and financial incentives to reduce emissions grow, we can expect to see even more investors taking similar actions.

These investor actions create huge pressure on corporations to reduce carbon emissions. At a minimum, manufacturing leaders are being asked to provide transparency into emissions because investors need the ability to report on progress. Many big investors are going much further to issue a clear mandate to companies: "Track and cut your emissions, or risk losing our backing." This isn't a mere suggestion or a temporary trend—it's becoming a standard practice. The message from investors is loud and clear: sustainability isn't just ethical, it's practical and profitable.

For manufacturers, this top-down pressure may be transformational. If you're part of the supply chain of companies influenced by these large investors, you can expect carbon emissions reporting to become part of your daily operational reality. The good news is that for manufacturers who can distinguish themselves in this area, excelling in emissions reporting and management can be a potential game-changer for your business.

Why? We share some specific examples in the upcoming section on pressure from customers and competitors.

Manufacturers also face increasingly strict carbon regulations worldwide. Recently, a number of regulatory authorities have started implementing systems that require or incentivize companies to actively track and reduce their carbon emissions. As a manufacturing CEO, it's important to understand how these upcoming regulations may impact your operations and market presence, depending on your geographic scope.

If selling only within North America:

• In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering new rules regarding carbon emissions disclosure. These potential changes could have significant implications for public companies and investors. How and when will these rules affect your company? That may depend on the timing of the SEC’s ruling, but initial timelines are as follows: 

• Large accelerated filers - Will need to report GHG metrics including Scope 1, 2 and associated intensity metric in the financial year 2023 (filed in 2024) and will need to report Scope 3 in the financial year 2024 (filed in 2025).

• Accelerated filers - Will need to report GHG metrics including Scope 1, 2 and associated intensity metric in the financial year 2024 (filed in 2025) and will need to report Scope 3 in the financial year 2025 (filed in 2026).

• Non-accelerated filers - Will need to report GHG metrics including Scope 1, 2 and associated intensity metric in the financial year 2024 (filed in 2025) and will need to report Scope 3 in the financial year 2025 (filed in 2026).

• Small reporting companies - Will need to report GHG metrics including Scope 1, 2 and associated intensity metric in the financial year 2025 (filed in 2026) and will be exempt from Scope 3 reporting. This is due to the proportionately higher costs they would incur to engage in data gathering and verification.

• It's important for manufacturers operating in the U.S. to stay informed about these developments and prepare for potential reporting requirements by having good measurement systems in place. Even if there are big changes in what the SEC eventually implements, because of the significant impact of these rules and similar movements in other geographies, many companies have already begun implementing strategies aligned with the SEC’s proposed new rules.    

If selling to Europe:

• Europe already has extremely strict emissions regulations. For example:  

• The European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) sets a cap on emissions for large emitters. Manufacturers selling to European markets must be aware of their emissions allowances and the potential for trading surplus allowances.

• The recently implemented Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) requires companies importing various products into the European Union to declare the emissions associated with their imports. This measure aims to ensure fair competition for European manufacturers by aligning emissions standards. Manufacturers exporting to Europe, or selling to other companies who are, should prepare for potential compliance requirements and the need to disclose emissions data for their products.

• To support the tracking required for its various emission reduction efforts, the EU established the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which went into effect January, 2023. This new directive expands the scope of the EU’s reporting regime to significantly more companies and strengthens requirements around the Sustainability disclosures that must be published. 

• Public companies based in the EU with greater than 500 employees will start being required to release reports under this new directive in 2025 based on their 2024 financial year. 

• Companies based outside of the EU but that have significant sales in the EU and a branch or subsidiary in the EU are required to report for the whole company even if not headquartered in the EU. Reporting for these companies is expected to begin in 2029 based on their 2028 financial year. 

• Specific countries are also implementing their own climate legislation, such as new laws in Germany aligned to the country’s goal of being greenhouse gas neutral by 2045.  

If selling globally:

• Manufacturers selling globally need to stay informed to ensure they maintain compliance and mitigate potential risks as different countries implement their own carbon regulations. The landscape is evolving quickly and grows increasingly complex as different jurisdictions roll out their own forms of emission regulations. 

• For example, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong recently proposed measures that set strict requirements for how listed companies report their carbon emissions, which would create pressure on manufacturers throughout the supply chain to track and reduce their emissions. 

Staying informed about evolving carbon regulations is important for manufacturers operating in different regions. The regulatory landscape is changing rapidly, and the scope and strictness of carbon emissions regulations are increasing quickly. By proactively addressing compliance requirements, tracking emissions, and incorporating sustainability practices, manufacturers can navigate the changing regulatory landscape, strengthen their market position, and align with the growing expectations of investors and business partners.

Manufacturers aren't insulated from these developments even if they don’t sell products that are directly subject to these regulations. In fact, as part of the supply chain, your actions can directly impact the sustainability scorecards of the companies you supply to—who may be selling in different markets. The more sustainable your operations, the lower your business risk, and the higher your appeal to both investors and potential business partners regardless of the markets they serve.

Within this regulatory and investment landscape, more and more large companies are making major commitments to reduce their carbon emissions. As of June 2023, 42% of companies in the Fortune Global 500 have now delivered a significant climate milestone or are publicly committed to do so by 2030—nearly doubling from 23% in 2019. 

Overall, the number of companies making science-based commitments to cut emissions has grown exponentially since 2015. As of 2021, these companies represented over $38 trillion, with the number expected to continue growing. 

These commitments have major ramifications throughout the supply chain. A few examples: 

1. Microsoft: In 2020, Microsoft pledged to be carbon negative by 2030. Not only that, but they also aim to remove all the carbon they have ever emitted into the atmosphere since their inception in 1975 by 2050. 

2. Unilever: Unilever plans to achieve net-zero emissions across their value chain by 2039. They've committed to ensuring that all their suppliers use 100% renewable energy by 2030 and are working towards full transparency by disclosing the carbon footprint of every product they sell.

3. Amazon: The e-commerce giant, under its Climate Pledge, has committed to becoming net-zero carbon across its business by 2040, a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement. 

4. General Motors: By 2040, General Motors plans to be carbon neutral in all its global products and operations. 

5. IKEA: IKEA's parent company, Ingka Group, pledged to reduce more greenhouse gas emissions than it emits and aims to become climate positive by 2030. The strategy includes not only reducing emissions from its stores and factories but also encouraging suppliers and customers to do the same.

For manufacturers within the supply chain of these and many other big companies, these high-profile commitments create both challenges and opportunities. As these companies aim to decrease their carbon footprints, they'll be looking for partners who share their commitment to sustainability. 

Manufacturers can align themselves with these new low-carbon goals, positioning their companies as attractive partners for businesses aiming to meet these ambitious targets. Such alignment can lead to new business opportunities and strong relationships with sustainability-focused companies. For example: 

• Manufacturer A who supplies a key part to a huge auto manufacturer can instill trust by providing their customer with detailed reporting on the emissions associated with the exact part that company is buying. Then, they can show those emissions decreasing over time in line with the auto manufacturer’s emissions goals—strengthening that relationship for the long term. 

• Furthermore, Manufacturer A can use the same detailed reporting and lower emissions per part to win new contracts with other big companies that have also set emissions reduction goals—displacing Manufacturer B and C who haven’t kept up with their customers’ new reporting and emissions reduction requirements, and dramatically increasing market share and competitive advantage in a positive flywheel. 

By getting ahead of what their customers will require in terms of emissions reduction, strategic leaders can make sure they are in a position of strength. Lower carbon emissions could mean more contracts, new partnerships, and increased investor interest. With investors, consumers, and businesses all becoming more carbon-conscious, it can give you a distinct competitive edge in the market.

Interestingly, the biggest direct force for emissions tracking and reduction right now is top-down rather than bottom-up from consumers. While analysts have talked for years about consumers wanting “green” products, in practice it is quite complex to measure how consumer sentiment translates into purchasing decisions. For example, when asked, a customer might say they would pay more for a green product, but they might not truly make that choice when in the store. Rather than consumers, the increased urgency around emissions reduction is coming most directly top-down, from investors, regulators, and big businesses deciding climate is an urgent risk.

In addition to the new pressures on manufacturers to track and reduce emissions, new opportunities are also emerging in the explosion of new manufacturing plants being built in the US to make climate friendly products and materials. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), which provides tax credits for clean energy projects and facilities that meet American manufacturing and sourcing requirements, is expected to lead to a significant increase in US manufacturing activity. Examples include low or zero carbon process heat systems, carbon sequestration, or energy efficiency technology. The IRA also specifically calls out the qualification of facilities that process, refine, or recycle critical raw materials to United States national security, economy, renewable energy development, and infrastructure. 

Depending on your specific products and manufacturing operations, there may be opportunities to benefit from these credits and incentives directly. As these new plants make climate friendly products and materials, they will be looking for aligned suppliers—and manufacturers with lower-carbon products or the ability to track emissions rigorously may have an advantage in supplying them. 

Emissions types and reporting approaches

To understand the opportunities most relevant to your business, it is helpful to start with an overview of how emissions are typically grouped for reporting purposes. The grouping of emissions into Scope 1, 2, and 3 is important for manufacturing leaders to understand because in addition to tracking their own Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, their company will also likely be part of the Scope 3 emissions of other companies in their value chain. For example, small or midsize manufacturers may not yet be required to report on their emissions—but if they sell to large public companies, they should understand how they fit into their customer’s Scope 3 emissions and commitments of their customers.   

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) defines the three scopes of emissions for businesses:

• Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. For example, a manufacturing plant that burns natural gas to generate electricity would report its Scope 1 emissions from the combustion of natural gas.

• Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased or acquired electricity, steam, heat, or cooling. For example, a manufacturing plant that buys electricity from a utility would report its Scope 2 emissions from the generation of that electricity.

• Scope 3 emissions are all other indirect emissions that occur in the value chain of the reporting company. This includes emissions from the transportation of goods, the use of sold products, and the disposal of waste. For example, a manufacturing plant that sells its products to customers who then transport them by truck would report its Scope 3 emissions from the transportation of those products.

To illustrate, here is a specific example of what Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions would be for an Apple iPhone:

• Scope 1 emissions would include the emissions from the combustion of fuel in the transportation of the iPhone from the factory to the store. These emissions would be produced directly by Apple, and they would be measured in grams of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per iPhone. 

• Scope 2 emissions would include the emissions from the generation of electricity that Apple uses to power its factories and offices. These emissions would be produced indirectly by Apple, and they would be measured in grams of CO2e per iPhone.

• Scope 3 emissions would include the emissions from the production of the iPhone's components, the transportation of the iPhone's components, the use of the iPhone, and the disposal of the iPhone. These emissions would be produced indirectly by Apple, and they would be measured in grams of CO2e per iPhone.

Here is a table that summarizes these emissions for Apple based on their 2022 Environmental Progress report: 

Scope 1 emissions are the emissions most directly tied to Apple, while Scope 3 emissions are for the most part driven by Apple’s supply chain. As you can see, despite being farther from Apple’s direct control, Scope 3 emissions are extremely significant, contributing the vast majority of the iPhone's overall carbon footprint. The production of many of the components, in particular, is a major contributor to the iPhone’s overall emissions—which means that as Apple sets reduction goals, it will make efforts to influence Scope 3 emissions. Potential actions Apple may take to reduce its Scope 3 emissions, for example, could include emissions requirements for their suppliers or purchases of carbon offsets.  

In general, Scope 3 tends to be more than 70% of a company’s carbon footprint; as Deloitte puts it, “Scope 3 is often where the impact is.”  Given the large share of emissions generated by upstream suppliers, large companies will lean heavily on their suppliers to track and reduce their emissions. This pressure creates a competitive advantage for those suppliers who demonstrate a clear ability to track their emissions and set actionable energy reduction targets based on real data.

With the rise of carbon reporting comes the question of how emissions should be tracked within different regulations, commitments, and systems. For example, one approach that you should be familiar with as a leader in manufacturing is carbon accounting. Eventually, you or your customers will likely need to account for carbon like you do dollars in your P&L, creating new requirements for your operations or new expectations from customers or investors.  

But most leaders don’t have to worry about the specifics of those carbon accounting practices for now. Until the details are clear and consistent across regulations and companies, we recommend manufacturing leaders continue to familiarize themselves with the approaches while focusing on the fundamentals—such as accurate data on key contributors to emissions, or improving energy efficiency—that are certain to form the core of any system. 

We’ve included some general background here so you can start to familiarize yourself with the space, but we don’t believe the path forward is yet clear enough for a specific recommendation.

• Reporting standards: The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) are all key players in working together to develop a more comprehensive and consistent approach to carbon reporting.

• Reporting and accounting practices: At the core of carbon accounting is the idea of "emissions liabilities." Simply put, this is a way to keep track of the carbon emissions involved in making a product or service at every step of the process, analogous to  how costs are tracked. This method, known as "Emissions Liability Management" (ELM), ensures that a company’s carbon emissions are regularly checked and included in their balance sheets. Under this system, companies can either keep these emissions on their books or pass them on to customers.

Suggested framework, tools, and recommendations for manufacturing leaders to navigate this new world

If the vagueness of “sustainability” claims has felt frustrating to you, the rise of carbon emissions tracking is an opportunity to take the lead in data-driven, quantifiable approaches to both improve sustainability and gain a business advantage in this space.  

While many aspects of carbon emissions reporting are evolving, fundamentals such as getting accurate data systems in place or improving energy efficiency provide clear opportunities for companies to start making progress while laying a solid foundation regardless of exactly how reporting requirements evolve.  

Of course, the relevance and size of that opportunity for your business depends on your specific situation. We propose a framework for determining how large the opportunity in this space is for your business, and what actions might therefore make sense for you as a leader.

Framework for CEOs and leaders within manufacturing to evaluate emissions reduction strategies:

As emissions tracking and reduction increasingly becomes a requirement for manufacturers, the companies who succeed will be the ones who find the best ways to simultaneously improve the sustainability of their products and their bottom lines. Leaders who address profitability and sustainability together and use the pressure to track and manage emissions as an opportunity to better understand their operations, engage their teams, and become more efficient will be more successful than those who don’t.  

While the specifics of this new space are still evolving, now is the time to begin putting in place the fundamentals that will establish a strong foundation regardless of specific requirements. The factory of the future will definitely include real time visibility and management of energy, great technology to get the most out of your equipment, and automatic systems that reduce scrap and prevent costly breakdowns—and most of these innovations positively impact both sustainability and profit.

Important steps to put good fundamentals in place include:  

1. Assess the biggest drivers of emissions in your business. Begin putting in place the data infrastructure for tracking foundational areas like energy spend and material waste (see below for examples). In particular, focus on those ripe for win-wins that benefit both the climate and your bottom line. Identify which are most meaningful for your business and for each product line or factory, and which are too immaterial to be worth your time.  

2. Equip your team with good tools. For those foundational areas, start equipping your team with tools such as FactoryOps platforms they can use to reduce emissions. Make sure the tools are easy to use and have enough granularity to empower your team to start taking action. This World Economic Forum resource identifies common barriers and opportunities; consider ways you might remove the common barriers, or which of the opportunities described apply in your operations. 

3. Start looking for win-wins that fit in your strategy. With rapid improvements in technology—from FactoryOps digitization, to more efficient equipment, to the falling cost of clean energy—there has been an explosion in ways to reduce emissions while also driving bottom-line benefit. Keeping your eyes out for these areas or asking your team to explore the technologies most relevant to your operations could have quick payoff for profit as well as put in place a solid foundation for lowering carbon emissions. 

4. Begin to learn about incentives, grants, low interest loans and other financial incentives that are available from utilities, governments (local, state and federal) and lenders to help you reduce your energy consumption and emissions.

Foundational, win-win starting points for CEOs and manufacturing leaders building their carbon emissions strategies: 

1. Energy management: As energy tends to be a big driver of manufacturing emissions, energy use by machine, especially across both production lines and utilities, is a great place to start. If you already have a FactoryOps platform like Guidewheel in place, you’re already well on your way. FactoryOps platforms provide both complete visibility into your production lines and energy consumption, and the ability to track energy and carbon at the detailed product level. 

1. With accurate data on energy use, you can confidently assess the ROI of more efficient equipment to make good CapEx decisions, or even get funding from your utility for more efficient equipment. 

2. Tools that give your team real time visibility into energy use can also empower them to apply lean principles to reducing energy waste within operations, for example by reducing machine idling time or identifying process changes or fixes that can reduce waste throughout the operation. 

3. Having accurate data on the energy used to produce each of the products you sell can also allow you to price them more accurately, and could also give you a competitive advantage for customers that want to track emissions by SKU.   

2. Reduce waste: Understanding and reducing waste of raw material in your operations is a great way to lower the carbon emissions associated with each of the products you produce—and also often a great way to save money. Getting data on raw materials used and wasted at each stage of the process, applying lean principles to scrap reduction, or giving your team tools to identify and prevent problems that might contribute to quality issues are all win-win ways to start laying the foundation for emissions reduction. 

3. Shifting to lower-carbon energy sources: Start identifying areas you might shift from high-carbon to lower-carbon sources of energy. As new low-carbon technologies are falling in cost, these opportunities may now have higher ROI than they did a year or two ago. 

1. Note: If you believe there are meaningful opportunities to improve energy efficiency in your operations, focusing on energy efficiency first can help prevent over-sizing of renewable energy systems.

There are many great examples of how leaders are starting with these foundational, win-win areas to both differentiate their organizations from a sustainability perspective and directly increase profit. In addition, for leaders who want to start small, specific use cases such as tracking energy used by specific machines to inform both carbon reporting and production and CapEx decision making, decreasing energy wasted by idling machines, engaging your team in finding ways to do more with less and reduce waste in processes or maintenance, or identifying utility credits that can help cover the costs of upgrading to more efficient equipment are great places to start. 

Overall, consider the foundation you want to have in place several years from now. Could this be an opportunity to further strengthen relationships with your existing customers? Could you leverage strength in low-carbon production or knowledge of different companies’ Scope 3 goals to approach new business opportunities, perhaps displacing competitors who aren’t keeping up with emissions requirements? Align the pieces of your strategy accordingly.

The transition to a lower-carbon economy will be full of new opportunities for manufacturers. Based on conversations with experts and manufacturers, we share some concrete predictions for the road ahead. 

Overall, the leaders of the factories of the future will clearly understand and have control over the emissions within their businesses. They’ll have: 

• A clear understanding of which emissions levers matter most and least for their businesses.

• Automated real-time emissions tracking, from the energy use of the machines on the factory floor to the raw material used, that is granular enough to associate with the actual product sold. 

• Tools to control those emissions, dialing them down depending on the requirements and willingness-to-pay of their customers. 

However, that shift won’t happen overnight. It will play out over the coming years. Here, we share some predictions about how the future will look. 

Next 12 months: 

In the coming year, manufacturers can expect an increased emphasis on transparency around carbon emissions. Regulatory bodies may impose more stringent guidelines for emissions reporting. Expectations will grow that companies share not just their carbon emissions data, but also their specific plans to reduce these emissions.

• Enhanced transparency and accountability around carbon emissions.

• Greater need for internal mechanisms to measure, manage, and report emissions data.

• Potential regulatory changes requiring mandatory emissions reporting in some geographies or sectors.

Next five years:

Over the next half-decade, expect further expansion of regulations and standards related to carbon emissions. Companies could see increased pressure to transition from voluntary reporting to mandatory disclosures. Changes might also involve the introduction of carbon accounting systems more and more similar to rigorous financial accounting systems, which could fundamentally shift the way companies account for and manage their carbon emissions. This might also be a time when investment decisions are increasingly linked to a company's emissions profile, thereby having even greater influence on the cost of capital.

• Broader regulatory changes requiring mandatory emissions disclosure.

• Potential shift from a diversity of current voluntary carbon tracking practices to more standardized systems.

• Financial implications as access to capital and customers become more closely tied to a company's carbon emissions profile.

Next 15 years:

In 15 years' time, achieving carbon neutrality will likely become a universal standard. Regulatory frameworks are likely to enforce this transition, and non-compliance could lead to significant financial and reputational risks. Moreover, manufacturers will need to be proactive in aligning their business strategies with global climate goals. Anticipate a revamping of business models and supply chains to align with net-zero emissions targets. Achieving this could mean moving beyond the traditional boundaries of your business and collaborating closely with stakeholders across your supply chain.

• Regulatory enforcement of carbon neutrality, with potential risks associated with non-compliance.

• Fundamental shifts in business models and supply chains to align with net-zero emissions targets.

• Increased need for collaboration across the supply chain to collectively achieve net-zero targets.

As daunting as it may seem, strong leaders have the opportunity to proactively lead their companies to success through these shifts. By leveraging new technologies, partnering with experts, and aligning your business with the growing shift towards sustainability, you can transform the challenge of carbon emissions tracking and reduction into a strategic advantage.

How Guidewheel can help: 

Guidewheel is the first FactoryOps platform that brings tools to improve sustainability and reduce carbon emissions into the core workflows manufacturers use to manage their businesses. 

Inspired by the simple, universal truth that every machine on the factory floor uses power, Guidewheel clips onto the electrical draw of any machine to turn its real-time “heartbeat” into a connected, active learning system that empowers teams to reduce lost production time, increase efficiency, and perform better and better over time. Any factory team can clip in all their machines—all ages, makes, and models—and see impact on core operating metrics within days. And within the same platform, Guidewheel builds in all the tools needed to track and manage energy and carbon to reduce costs and hit sustainability goals. 

By delivering lightning-fast time to value while also tying energy and sustainability into the operating foundation of the business, rather than a separate goal, Guidewheel empowers manufacturers to achieve much greater scale and impact.

Whether you’re early in your journey of emissions tracking and reporting or already advanced, our team is working with hundreds of manufacturers in this area and is always happy to connect and share best practices. Contact us at info@guidewheel.com.