In any and every job, you have a variety of roles, including those not directly associated with your title. A sourcing manager may need to understand cost analysis, a finance professional may rely on insights from production, and operations teams often depend on data from procurement. While each person has core responsibilities, the best employees and teams work together to understand different roles and incorporate them into a well-rounded workflow. Being siloed in a position or department will always create roadblocks.

Sustainability is in a silo.

Manufacturing needs sustainability as a core function of almost every position, yet it is often isolated to one team or, more likely, one person. Sustainability initiatives are presented in reports and presentations but fail to integrate into everyday processes. This separation limits progress, as environmental improvement depends on coordination across procurement, design, logistics, and leadership. When sustainability is integrated across teams, sourcing can reduce raw material use, engineering can design around circularity, finance can project long-term savings, and marketing can highlight the company’s progress with credibility.

A major reason for the disconnect is the lack of people with environmental education and experience. Half-developed sustainability ideas are being passed on to whoever is available rather than to those equipped with the proper knowledge. In many cases, sustainability becomes a side project rather than a shared value.

This isn’t just a corporate challenge, it’s an educational one. Our schools and universities still treat environmental literacy as optional, and misinformation online makes it even harder for professionals to self-educate. As a result, companies are left to pursue sustainability without a sturdy foundation, creating an unstable program.  

Integrating sustainability into a company's DNA requires more than just compliance. Sustainability should not live on the fringe of the organization but should flow through every decision and department, from design to disposal. By embedding environmental awareness into training, team discussions, and goal setting, we can close the knowledge gap and create an engaged workforce.

The better we integrate sustainability practices into companies and individuals, the stronger our collective impact will be, not just in reducing waste or emissions, but in reshaping how we define responsibility and success in manufacturing.  

True sustainability is about longevity, building systems, products, and cultures that endure. When companies embed environmental discussion into daily operations, they’re not only improving their carbon footprint today but also ensuring resilience for the future. Longevity comes from learning, adapting, and designing processes that can sustain both people and the planet.

Building a culture where sustainability is second nature takes time and intention. It is not just about changing operations, but reshaping mindsets, empowering teams, and making environmentalism part of the company's identity. In the next Sustainability Insights, we will explore strategies to integrate sustainability as a core value from leadership to the production floor.