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The manufacturing industry can increasingly no longer afford to wait. New regulations from Brussels are on the way, but even without final legislation, practice is already changing. Customers, partners and the market are already asking for adaptation, insight and direction. Yet many companies still choose to postpone action. Is that justified, or has that now become the biggest mistake you can make?

Question 1:
European legislation and regulations such as the PPWR and CSRD are regularly postponed. Many companies see that as a reason to stand still for a while. What do you think that says about how the manufacturing industry views sustainability, and why do you believe that is a missed opportunity?

“Regulation exists to create a level playing field and to ensure that not only the frontrunners concern themselves with sustainability, but that all companies have to take part. At European level, this could make us a powerful sustainable economy, with scale and impact that could be significant on a global level.

However, the current sentiment in the European Parliament is that regulation restricts our earning capacity and harms our competitive position on the global market. That is where the doubt and delay come from.

In my opinion, this is short term thinking, because in the longer term, society will bear these costs anyway. If you calculate it through, we are essentially passing the cost on to our children and leaving the future with the problem.

So now that the urgency has faded, many companies are standing still. They are slowing down the efforts they were making towards demonstrable sustainability. That is unfortunate, because lost momentum is not easy to recover. And as mentioned, companies lose their opportunity to gain an advantage and become future proof.

Fortunately, there is another perspective as well. Companies that are well connected to their customers, and to their customers’ customers, clearly hear that sustainability issues have not disappeared. There is still a need for control over ESG topics, supported by data and transparency in the chain.

This still makes the topic a possible source of competitive advantage compared to other suppliers, and a reason to build stronger customer loyalty and strengthen collaboration across the chain.

It also creates breathing space. Instead of having to respond to compliance pressure imposed by large consulting firms, often with limited substantive knowledge, companies can now decide for themselves what to do.

Businesses can reflect on what makes sense for their chain, with their customers, in their industry, and focus on that. What needs to be reported, which data matters, and how can we collaborate?

So, positive as I am, I also see an opportunity here. The opportunity to take control ourselves and, from a management perspective, set clear goals around data, transparency, measures and interventions that deliver both ecological and economic benefits.”

Question 2:
Looking at the companies, the Alliance members, you work with, do you see a clear difference between organisations that wait for legislation and companies that move ahead? What do those frontrunners do differently, apart from rules and obligations?

The clear difference in behaviour comes from a positive outlook and vision on their business. How can they contribute through their processes and chain to sustainable goals that also bring commercial success?

Take IGEPA, for example. Through their circular programme, they offer customers the service of collecting and recycling cutting waste, which in the print industry can amount to as much as 30 percent. This not only gives those customers a positive footprint reduction, but also creates more loyal customers. They have shown that sales among customers participating in the programme grow up to twice as fast as with other customers. So it delivers both positive impact and commercial success.

We also see strong collaborations between BMN, GP Groot, Dijkstra and Eurocol in building a closed loop chain for adhesive buckets, reducing footprint while increasing customer loyalty.

The VDK Group is also working hard to collect and structure data across all their companies, so that within the organisation they know where the material flows are and what the footprint is. This enables them to take action to reduce their negative impact where it is greatest. And by combining the data and insights with a sustainable menu of measures, they can share and replicate actions, allowing the group to accelerate the transition together. That makes them a more attractive partner for both shareholders and customers.

Question 3:
Can you give a concrete example of an Alliance member that made sustainable choices early on based on intrinsic motivation? What unexpected benefits did that bring them, for example in terms of costs, innovation, customer loyalty or employee satisfaction?

In addition to the examples above, Lamme is also worth mentioning. As a seventh generation family business, they are used to looking across generations, focusing on the bigger picture and long term impact. They were among the first within the Alliance to start working with Kivo, KRAS and KLM on a closed loop system for the plastic covers used for blankets and pillows on intercontinental flights. Although this did not initially lead to cost reduction, it did create a positive improvement in CO2 footprint. In the longer term, it has certainly benefited them. It has made them a unique and attractive partner for airlines, which helped them win tenders with other organisations as well. Internally, it also opened their eyes to circular opportunities, leading them to start working with circular textiles and other material streams too.