Sustainable strategies for long-term business success
Achieving long-term business success increasingly depends on adopting sustainable practices. While sustainability priorities have evolved over time, one fact remains consistent: companies that integrate sustainability into their operations position themselves for greater profitability and long-term growth.
A recent IBM report highlights the financial advantages of sustainability-driven organizations, showing that businesses embedding sustainability throughout their operations are 52 percent more likely to outperform competitors in profitability and experience a 16 percent higher revenue growth rate.
This article explores the role of artificial intelligence (AI), the circular economy and digitalization in reducing costs, improving energy efficiency and turning sustainability into a competitive advantage.
AI’s role in driving sustainability
Sustainable transformation today is closely linked to AI’s capabilities as an enabler of more efficient and profitable operations. However, for AI to have a meaningful impact, it must be scalable and tailored to the needs of different industries and organizations. Industrial-grade AI stands out in this regard, meeting the security, reliability and performance standards necessary to drive measurable results.
Siemens’ electronics factory in Erlangen, Germany, is an example of AI’s potential in sustainable manufacturing. By leveraging AI to analyze data and optimize processes, the facility has achieved:
- A 25 percent reduction in energy consumption
- A 50 percent decrease in Erlangen’s carbon footprint
- A 50 percent drop in energy use per unit produced
- A 70 percent reduction in ventilation power consumption
Automation has further amplified these benefits. AI-powered robotics have optimized PCB component handling, minimizing material waste and energy use. Eliminating the need for pre-sorted parts has also reduced thousands of plastic inlays, cutting costs while lowering environmental impact.
The message is clear: AI has the potential to enable smarter, leaner and more sustainable industrial operations.
Circularity: turning waste into opportunity
Industrial waste is on the rise, yet in 2023, only 7.2 percent of materials were recycled. This inefficiency presents a major opportunity for companies to cut costs, conserve resources, and reduce CO₂ emissions—by as much as 39 percent, according to the Circularity Gap Report. The key to advancing circularity lies in starting small and scaling up.
Siemens has identified five r-strategies: reduce, repair, refurbish, remanufacture and recycle, which define a circular approach to manufacturing. Since 80 percent of a product’s environmental impact is determined during the design phase, addressing sustainability at this stage is crucial. The digital twin plays a pivotal role in this effort, enabling engineers to optimize product design, minimize waste and simulate supply chain impacts before production even begins.
Additionally, technologies like AI, IT/OT convergence and predictive maintenance extend machine life and reduce resource consumption. Designing products and processes with longevity in mind not only conserves materials but also drives cost efficiencies.
Beyond waste reduction, innovations such as battery passports are facilitating material tracking, making it easier to identify components that can be refurbished, reused, or recycled—further advancing the circular economy.
How Fürth and Spinnova implement circularity
Sustainability and innovation increasingly go hand in hand, as demonstrated by Spinnova and Siemens’ electronics plant in Fürth, Germany.
Spinnova, a textile company, is reimagining the resource-intensive fashion industry, which generates over 90 million tons of waste annually. Using a revolutionary process inspired by spider silk production, Spinnova transforms cellulosic raw materials into fiber—without harmful chemicals, excessive water use or significant waste. With Siemens Xcelerator, the company is scaling production, streamlining collaboration with partners and accelerating its global market reach.
Likewise, Siemens’ Fürth electronics plant exemplifies sustainable innovation in manufacturing. Recognized by the World Economic Forum for leadership in energy efficiency and resource conservation, the facility has achieved:
- 64 percent lower energy use per unit produced
- 72 percent reduction in emissions
- 47 percent less waste
- 145 percent improvement in efficiency
The plant’s success is rooted in circular principles, including lifecycle tracking, prioritizing repairs and extending service life to cut down emissions associated with manufacturing and disposal. A dedicated long-life repair service already has 300 cases lined up for early 2025, with expectations to reach 2,000 by 2026. With these efforts, the plant is on track to achieve CO₂ neutrality by 2026.
Smart, sustainable, profitable
Sustainability is more than just an ethical responsibility, it’s ultimately a path to profitability. At Hannover Messe 2025, Siemens will showcase how AI and circularity are reshaping production by empowering businesses to maximize impact while minimizing resource consumption. As industry expectations evolve, those that integrate sustainable innovation into their operations will be better positioned to navigate change, tap into new markets and remain resilient and competitive.
Siemens Digital Industries Software helps organizations of all sizes digitally transform using software, hardware and services from the Siemens Xcelerator business platform. Siemens’ software and the comprehensive digital twin enable companies to optimize their design, engineering and manufacturing processes to turn today’s ideas into the sustainable products of the future. From chips to entire systems, from product to process, across all industries. Siemens Digital Industries Software – Accelerating transformation.
