Green Not A Priority For Small Manufacturers, Study Says

Vivi Gorman
Posted on Thursday 11th June 2009

Green and sustainability business models are a low priority for smaller U.S. manufacturers even with increasing consumer demand and government incentives, according to The American Small Manufacturers Coalition (ASMC), which released a national study June 11.

ASMC, a trade association dedicated to maintaining the viability of the America’s manufacturing sector, surveyed 2,500 manufacturing companies across the country and found that only 16 percent rank environmental and/or energy conservation as paramount to their success in the next five years. A separate 16 percent of companies polled said green initiatives are not important.

Along with member Manufacturing Extension Partnership centers, ASMC conducted its Next Generation Manufacturing Study in its campaign to help U.S. manufacturers sustain the economic downturn and compete globally.

Industry Challenges

The study alarmingly concludes that small manufacturers are having a difficult time weathering the current economic state. It says strategies critical to manufacturers’ success and implementing such measures are two different stories, where a serious gap between the two exist. More than 25 percent of U.S. manufacturers are not at or near world-class performance levels in any next generation strategies, such as customer-focused innovation, systemic continuous improvement, advanced talent management, global engagement, extended enterprise management and sustainable products and processes. Large manufacturers stand a much better chance, the study notes.

Less than half surveyed believe global engagement is necessary to their success over the next ten years despite the growing markets and workforce outside the U.S. The U.S. sector is threatened by loss of leadership, lack of adequate measurement systems and productive partnerships with employee, suppliers and support organizations.

Given that 13 million Americans are employed in manufacturing and the manufacturing sector accounts for two-thirds of U.S. exports, these results are scary; but, industry leaders are hopeful that once identified, challenges can be overcome. Problems were present before the recession started, ASMC says.

Michael Klonsinski, ASMC board chair and executive director of the Wisconsin Manufacturing Extension Partnership, remarked that manufacturing need to respond by becoming faster and more flexible in the global market. He said many manufacturers are involved in next generation strategies and are growing.

John Brandt, CEO of the Manufacturing Performance Institute, a global research firm that conducted the study, said, “Manufacturers that focus on achieving world-class status in Next Generation Manufacturing strategies are leaving their competitors behind” because they “manage differently, implement best practices at far higher rates and outperform their non-world-class peers on a wide array of operational and financial metrics.”

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