UK manufacturers are increasingly investing in digital technology as part of their decarbonisation journeys, according to a recent study published by manufacturing organisation MakeUK.
The study, which is titled “Decarbonisation through Digitalisation”, was conducted together with Sage, which specialises in providing cloud-based solutions for managing businesses. It reveals that almost half (47%) of the surveyed UK manufacturers are already following a plan for investing in digital technologies. What’s more, about a quarter of businesses have invested in digital solutions already.
Of those companies that had already enhanced their production processes through digital technologies, 62% reported lower energy consumption, reducing both the carbon intensity of production and energy bills, with just over half reporting savings of £10,000 to £100,000 over the past year. Almost half of companies also cited digitalisation as the main source of productivity improvements, leading to further real-terms savings for labour, water and materials.
Nevertheless, some manufacturers remain wary of the upfront costs involved. Make UK CEO Stephen Phipson said that it would help to extend tax relief for R&D:
“…to include capital equipment relating to industrial decarbonisation and the introduction of a Help to Grow Green tax credit to incentivise businesses to take those first active steps to produce goods more sustainably at a time companies are cash-strapped through the burden of higher labour and energy costs.”
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