Article
The sustainable shift of manufacturing with data and technology
May 9, 2025 · Authored by Cindy M. Bratel
Environmental accountability is becoming as vital as profitability and the manufacturing industry stands at a crossroads. Sustainability is reshaping how products are designed, made and reused. In a recent podcast with CADTALK, Baker Tilly’s Cindy Bratel, Principal and leader of the firm’s IFS Solutions practice, discussed how the manufacturing shift towards sustainability is being driven by technology, cultural change and a deeper sense of responsibility, highlighting the role of IFS Cloud in enabling a more circular and future-ready manufacturing model.
Key takeaways:
From linear to circular: Manufacturing has followed linear processes of extract, produce and discard, with profit being a driver but this paradigm is rapidly evolving. Circular manufacturing focuses on designing products with reuse, recycling and recovery in mind. Cindy shared real-world examples, such as the automotive industry’s reuse of cores and recovery of rare materials like platinum from oxygen sensors. What began as cost-saving measures now align with broader sustainability goals.
Forces driving the shift: Several factors are accelerating sustainability adoption in manufacturing:
- Global regulations: Increasing international requirements make sustainability essential for doing business worldwide.
- Generational pressure: Generation Z and millennial employees demand environmentally conscious employers.
- Pandemic perspective: A clearer understanding of global interconnectivity and ecological fragility.
- Profit-sustainability alignment: Resource efficiency aligns economic and environmental goals, making the business case undeniable.
Data as a foundation: Before companies can set sustainability goals and start environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, they need to understand where they stand. The journey starts with education, data collection and establishing a baseline. Clean, centralized and contextual data is critical for tracking performance as well as for making smarter, faster decisions.
