Industry's role in meeting sustainability targets: Insights from Sustainable Industry Live

As COP29 convenes in Baku, the industrial sector faces a pivotal moment in its approach to sustainability. While global climate commitments underscore the urgency, Sustainable Industry Live (SIL) recently offered a platform for industry leaders to assess practical actions to meet these targets.

Focused on sustainable transformation within high-carbon sectors, discussions highlighted the complex challenges and solutions available to leaders in the industrial sphere. 

Breaking the dependency cycle: Innovation as a catalyst for sustainable growth 

At SIL, innovation was recognised as fundamental to decoupling industrial growth from carbon intensity. Martin Gaffney, a subject matter expert at On-Site Energy, emphasised the need for solutions that reduce both energy costs and emissions: “Our Energy-as-a-Service model enables energy-intensive manufacturers to cut emissions without adding capital expenditure.” This perspective resonates with COP29’s priority on enabling industries to contribute to climate goals through efficient and innovative technology​ 

The consensus at SIL was that technological advancements must address energy and resource efficiency while maintaining operational quality and cost-competitiveness. Industry experts suggested that the “innovation equation” should explicitly include carbon reduction metrics, allowing businesses to measure both environmental and economic performance. 

Increasing transparency and accountability in supply chains 

Industrial leaders also underscored the need for transparency throughout supply chains. To meet evolving consumer and regulatory demands, extended producer responsibility (EPR), accurate product labelling, and transparency in recycling processes are essential. Composites and complex materials remain particularly challenging, as current recycling capabilities struggle with quality, safety, and cost issues. Addressing these concerns requires cohesive policy frameworks to standardise practices across sectors. 

The SIL poll revealed significant support for greater supply chain transparency, with over 50% of participants citing supply chain complexity as the primary barrier to circularity in their processes​(poll-results). This sentiment aligns with COP29’s focus on streamlined, verifiable supply chain practices as a fundamental aspect of corporate accountability. 

Strategic leadership: Pivotal to driving sustainable transformation 

For industries to achieve their sustainability targets, leadership commitment is indispensable. Presenters at SIL noted that sustainability goals must be driven from the top, with leaders actively integrating them into corporate strategy and operations.

Naomi Nye, an Electric Vehicle (EV) expert at Drax Energy Solutions, stressed that “a net-zero commitment requires leaders to redefine operational priorities, ensuring that sustainability is embedded in each decision-making process.” Active leadership signals a strong corporate commitment to sustainability, encouraging employee engagement and fostering a corporate culture that prioritises environmental responsibility​. 

Financial implications and the cost burden of sustainability 

A critical concern raised was the financial burden of sustainability. Balancing the costs between producers and consumers remains contentious, with some SIL participants arguing that transparency in cost allocation is crucial for broad acceptance of sustainable products. Poll results indicated that for >40% of leaders, reducing operational costs was the most pressing challenge in scaling sustainable practices. 

While there is recognition of the need for up-front investment, there is also strong support for financial incentives and policy frameworks that alleviate cost pressures on producers. Leaders at SIL advocated for a government-backed approach that includes incentives and subsidies to accelerate sustainable transitions, a theme resonant with discussions at COP29. 

Reconceptualising waste as an asset within the circular cconomy 

The redefinition of waste as a resource is central to circular economy strategies. Industrial leaders at SIL discussed waste not as a by-product, but as a potential raw material, which requires investment in both technology and systems for collection, sorting, and reprocessing.

The message was clear: industries must adopt a holistic view of waste, aligning with COP29’s emphasis on circularity. However, the transition requires a cohesive policy framework across waste management and processing sectors, ensuring that waste valorisation is commercially viable and practically achievable​. 

Advancing policy frameworks to drive transformation 

Achieving sustainable transformation in industry depends heavily on coherent policy support. SIL participants highlighted the need for joined-up policies that support a seamless transition to net-zero. Currently, fragmented policies pose significant obstacles to industrial decarbonisation. Industry leaders advocated for a single regulatory framework that facilitates coordinated planning across energy, waste, and resource management sectors. 

The establishment of comprehensive policy frameworks, such as those discussed at COP29, would empower industries to pursue sustainability goals without facing regulatory contradictions. This regulatory support is particularly relevant for industries like manufacturing, where complex operations require clear guidelines to achieve measurable reductions in carbon emissions​. 

Moving forward: Industry as a strategic partner in sustainable development 

Sustainable Industry Live underscored that while industry transformation is complex, it is also achievable. Leaders from across sectors recognise their pivotal role in reaching sustainability targets, but they require both technological and regulatory support to make progress. COP29 presents an opportunity for governments and industries to work collaboratively, developing policies and frameworks that promote sustainable industrial practices. 

Industry leaders are encouraged to take immediate actions to integrate sustainability into their operations, viewing environmental goals not as regulatory burdens, but as strategic objectives. Embracing innovative solutions, increasing supply chain transparency, and investing in circular practices will not only support COP29 goals but also position industries as key players in the global movement towards sustainability.