Strategies for Building a More Sustainable Manufacturing Plant

Steven Strobel

Steven Strobel leads the North American Industrial, Manufacturing and Logistics sector for Rider Levet Bucknall (RLB), a globally renowned construction consultancy. A seasoned construction professional, Steven has expertise in design, construction and project management from concept through completion in the commercial construction industry, including battery and cathode, automotive, aeroponics and high-tech facilities.

Aaron Woodward

Aaron Woodward, MSL, LEED AP, is a principal and leads RLB’s sustainability services practice in North America.  He has over 24 years of experience as a project manager and is a leader in implementing green building best practices and carbon estimating services on projects across the world.

Successfully building a sustainable manufacturing plant requires early planning and strategic budgeting. Combined, these tactics create clear guidelines, provide optionality in design, promote alignment, accountability and effective incorporation of company sustainability and carbon footprint goals.

Below are seven best practices for successful project planning with sustainability in mind.

“The success of a sustainable manufacturing facility ultimately relies on thorough planning, clear documentation and firm commitment to environmental goals throughout the entire project lifecycle.”

Build a Strong Team

The first step for any team approaching a new project should be assembling a team of qualified owner’s representatives. These professionals are your advocates throughout a project, bringing critical expertise in strategic planning, cost estimating, sustainability integration and project forecasting. Beyond their core capabilities, owner’s representatives are crucial in selecting the right design team and contractors while establishing clear scope and schedule expectations. 

This early investment in experienced representation helps focus resources on the most impactful project activities, ultimately saving both time and money.

Feasibility and ROI Planning

Conducting a comprehensive feasibility study will provide the framework needed for a successful project. By setting priorities, clear expectations and expected costs and with an owner’s representative on the team, this information will be used to make sound decisions using the best available data, not assumptions. A feasibility study will offer an early opportunity to set the sustainability agenda and plan the project with the intention and resources needed to accomplish the company’s goals.

The feasibility process begins with identifying the specific reasons for the new manufacturing facility. Discussions about space needs, location, transportation access, infrastructure requirements, building features and sustainable opportunities must be incorporated into the owner’s project requirements document, which becomes the project framework. The more specific these requirements, the better the project experience.

Creating an ROI decision-making process means establishing an approach that considers more than just cost but also considers the social and environmental positives and negatives. This triple-bottom-line approach weighs project cost, social and community value and environmental and sustainability factors in each decision.

Identify Project Sustainable Objectives

Green building certifications provide established frameworks for incorporating sustainability into your facility. Consider certifications like the USGBC’s LEED certification, Energy Star, or Living Building Challenge. These improve the working environment, leading to benefits like greater employee retention and productivity.

Stretch goals to consider include zero carbon, zero waste and climate resilience initiatives. Consider building systems that make the project more resilient to drought, severe weather and other operational risks. These systems can mitigate operational downtime through renewable power, water recovery systems and drought-tolerant landscaping.

Site Selection

Identifying key facility-specific variables needed to have a functional facility is a must. If having an urban location is sensible, then brownfield or infill opportunities should be considered. Brownfield and infill projects have many benefits, especially from an environmental and embodied carbon perspective. Selecting a brownfield building significantly reduces the project’s carbon footprint, as the embodied carbon remains embedded in the existing building’s materials when the building was first constructed.

 

Sites within city limits or urban areas limit employee commute durations, reducing emissions while boosting employee morale. Identifying multiple potential locations allows the owner's representatives to research site-specific considerations, including environmental studies, planning and zoning restrictions, local building codes and existing infrastructure needs to match the project’s criteria best.

Conduct a Life Cycle Analysis

Having a life cycle analysis (LCA) completed at each project phase significantly improves overall sustainability. An LCA immediately supports ROI decision-making by estimating embodied and operational carbon values, providing objective decision-making data that results in real environmental risk mitigation. An LCA can help estimate the value of procuring carbon off-sets to reach net-zero carbon goals. Set an assertive goal of reducing the embodied carbon emissions of your new project by 40 percent.

Prepare Schedules and Estimates

It takes time to procure real estate, navigate requirements, hire architects, obtain permits and construct a new facility. The owner's representative becomes key to managing a project schedule that realistically forecasts durations and proper sequencing to avoid missteps.

Project budgets must reflect the project's requirements, be based on local material availability, up-to-date market costs, escalation forecasts and account for costs associated with sustainability objectives. Relying on cost assumptions from earlier projects is a serious mistake, as material and labor costs change from project to project. Including sustainability strategies in the feasibility study dramatically enhances the likelihood of meeting environmental goals.

The Final Plan

When following these strategies, everything comes together in one comprehensive package that provides all the information needed for next steps, whether applying for financing or earmarking capital resources. The feasibility report provides the scope of work for hiring an architect and contractor, making sure sustainability remains central throughout the project.

The success of a sustainable manufacturing facility ultimately relies on thorough planning, clear documentation and firm commitment to environmental goals throughout the entire project lifecycle. By implementing these strategies from the earliest planning stages, organizations can create facilities that benefit both the environment and their bottom line while ensuring long-term operational efficiency.