NAM - Challenges and Solutions for the Next President and Congress: Environment in Focus

December 14, 2016

Manufacturers are prioritizing sustainability by increasing energy efficiency, saving and recycling water and implementing successful initiatives to reduce pollution and waste. Through these traditional and innovative sustainability measures, manufacturers have helped to usher in a new era of a cleaner and more sustainable environment. However, in spite of best-in-class efforts, the United States and the world continue to face serious environmental and sustainability challenges. There are forces far beyond the capability of manufacturers in the United States that are driving changes to the global environment.

The world’s population is expected to grow from 7.3 billion people today to 9.7 billion by 2050; 795 million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life; 1.3 billion people lack access to electricity; and droughts and other natural disasters threaten many already environmentally and economically stressed parts of the world.

Mitigating the impacts of climate change, protecting the air, feeding the world’s growing population and ensuring adequate supplies of drinking water are just a few of the significant issues facing current and future generations. The growing population creates increasing demand for nearly all goods, yet our planet’s resources are finite. To ensure future generations have the same or greater opportunities as current generations, manufacturers have embraced sustainability.

This means continuing to lead by minimizing environmental footprints, reducing emissions, conserving critical resources, protecting biodiversity, limiting waste and providing safe products and solutions so others in the economy can do the same. Sustainability drives the efficient use of resources so that economic value to society can continue to grow while businesses remain profitable enterprises. The results benefit not only customers but also broader communities beyond the manufacturing shop floor.
 
The choice between environmental protection and a strong economy is not an either/or proposition...

Read entire 8-page white paper at National Asssociation of Manufacturers.

 

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