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Environmentally Sustainable Operations

Helping companies optimize operations for improved environmental sustainability
Increased environmental regulation and customer demand for environmentally sustainable buildings and supporting infrastructure, products, and services, are requiring organizations to reimagine their operations and supply chains. Environmental sustainability is moving from aspiration to expectation for all stakeholders, from investors to clients, customers, and employees. In turn, approaching operations with a sustainability lens can be a source of competitive advantage.
We help organizations deliver Change that Matters by optimizing resources, implementing governance programs, building supply chain transparency, and adding innovative delivery solutions and after-sales services. Our technology underpins transformations when appropriate, with digital and analytics solutions providing insights that drive recommendations. Our capability building solution ensures that the transformations stick by equipping teams at all levels of the organizations with the skills and knowledge required to implement the changes and identify further opportunities for improvement.

Featured Capabilities

Resource Cleansheet: Our tool maps a product or service’s cost and CO2 footprint along its entire value stream and life cycle. Using advanced analytics, proprietary solutions, and benchmarks enables a decision-making process that can guide CO2-abatement strategies.

Electric vehicle benchmarking: We benchmark cost, consumer, and technical insights to guide the design and manufacturing of electric vehicles and their parts to generate bottom-line impact. With a virtual reality interface that delivers an advanced digital-twin experience, our solution provides key technical and granular cost insights into electric vehicles.

Featured Insights

Article

Outsprinting the energy crisis

– High energy costs are hitting Europe’s industrial players hard. Bold action could protect margins today and make companies cleaner, stronger, and more profitable for the future.
Podcast

Reaching net zero—what will it take?
– The quest for sustainability requires action on many fronts, with changes to supply networks, manufacturing processes, and business... models.
Article

It’s not easy buying green: How to win at sustainable sourcing
– Green steel, recycled plastic, and other materials with low emissions intensity are already scarce—and will get even harder... to find. Here’s how smart companies are preparing for the squeeze.
Article

Product sustainability: Back to the drawing board
– Up to four-fifths of a product’s lifetime emissions are determined by decisions made at the design stage. By building on... proven cost-optimization techniques, companies can get those choices right.
Article

Industrial-resource productivity and the road to sustainability
– As industrial companies—especially in process industries—strive for a zero-carbon future, a time-tested approach shows... renewed value in helping reduce carbon by up to one-third in three to five years.
Article

Lighthouses unlock sustainability through 4IR technologies
– At manufacturing lighthouses, the Fourth Industrial Revolution makes sustainability easier. Environmental sustainability and operational... competitiveness reinforce one another, thanks to digital.
Issue

Meeting the sustainable infrastructure challenge
– Welcome to the September 2021 issue of Voices on Infrastructure, a collection of insights on how infrastructure can help... address the climate-change challenge.
Article

Buying into a more sustainable value chain
– Two-thirds of the average company’s environment, social, and governance footprint lies with suppliers. Procurement leaders... who take bold action can make a decisive difference in sustainability.
Article

Call for action: Seizing the decarbonization opportunity in construction
– As decarbonization initiatives gain momentum, construction players can benefit from this growing trend—but only if they... view ESG as a strategic opportunity and collaborate with other stakeholders in the ecosystem.
Article

Making supply-chain decarbonization happen
– Active supply-chain decarbonization is becoming a license to operate for businesses, but companies aiming to be role models in... the fight against climate change must overcome roadblocks along the way.
Article

Net zero or bust: Beating the abatement cost curve for growth
– Companies can both decarbonize and boost long-term growth. But it means pushing beyond abatement curves’ focus on cost and... instead empowering people—while making a few big, strategic bets.
Article

Investing in infrastructure for a ‘green recovery’
– Asset managers must understand climate change's impact on portfolios. Lawrence Slade of the Global Infrastructure Investor Association... writes on how this can create a more sustainable built environment.
Article

What infrastructure stimulus investments could be the most important for governments to pursue now and why?
– Industry leaders from Beijing, the UK, Canada, and at the World Bank weigh in on the infrastructure stimulus investments governments... may want to prioritize as they consider economic recovery.
Article

Infrastructure options for the future of cities
– Leaders must tackle increasingly complex economic, social, and environmental challenges to ensure cities stay competitive. Experts... at Sidewalk Labs discuss how harnessing new technologies can help.
Article

A low-carbon recovery is vital—and achievable
– The post-pandemic recovery could be decisive in the fight against climate change. Our analysis illustrates how policy makers can... bring economic, environmental, and social priorities together.
Article

To take off, flying vehicles first need places to land
– The buzz about vehicles flying above hides the infrastructure challenge below.
Article - McKinsey Global Institute

COVID-19 and climate change expose dangers of unstable supply chains
– With the world undergoing its second “once in a generation” disruption in 12 years, a reappraisal of supply chains is in order.
Article - McKinsey Global Institute

Could climate become the weak link in your supply chain?
– Greater frequency and severity of climate hazards can create more disruptions in global supply chains—interrupting production,... raising costs and prices, and hurting corporate revenues.

Featured Experts

Seunghyuk Choi
Partner, Seoul
Advises advanced industries clients from the automotive and high-tech space on pursuing strategic-business transformations with...
Peter Crispeels
Partner, Lyon
Focuses on large-scale transformation of industrial activities
Stefan Helmcke
Senior Partner, Vienna
Stefan Helmcke is co-leader of McKinsey’s global Sustainability Practice. He is responsible for sustainability strategy as well...
Ken Somers
Partner, Brussels
Brings a wealth of operational expertise to help clients from manufacturing industries increase their yields and energy efficiency
Peter Spiller
Partner, Frankfurt
Advises companies and business leaders across industries on the development and implementation of environmentally-sustainable...
Xiaofan Wang
Partner, Shanghai
Leads the Oil & Gas Practice and is a core leadership member in the sustainability and growth platform in Greater China; advises...

Learn more about how we can optimize your operations for environmental sustainability

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