Insight: Green by default – How ERP is powering manufacturing sustainability from the supply chain up

For many organisations, particularly midmarket manufacturers who can lack the resources to address compliance effectively, sustainability remains somewhat of a box-ticking exercise. People are aware that they should conduct business more sustainably and choose suppliers that do the same, but it can feel like hard work. Thomas Knorr from Forterro looks at how technology is powering sustainability across the manufacturing sector and its supply chain.

Sustainability is no longer a siloed initiative; it’s a business imperative that should be built into the entire organisation, woven through product design, procurement, production, packaging, and shipping. However, for many mid-sized organisations, sustainability can still feel like an overwhelming and costly obligation that offers minimal value. But with the right systems in place, it doesn’t have to be, and in fact can be effortless and help the business, so it becomes a value-add rather than a compliance burden.

ERP and sustainability

ERP has become one of the must-have technologies for organisations of most sizes and operating in most sectors. ERP improves efficiency and productivity, delivers better data management and smarter decision-making, and streamlines processes across a business.

Today, modern ERP systems are becoming the invisible engine behind sustainable manufacturing. They turn ESG reporting from a complex chore into a one-click exercise, and they help procurement and supply chain teams align compliance with competitive advantage. The result is a shift in mindset, where sustainability becomes seamless and strategic, instead of a chore and a drain on time.

ERP can enable smarter, greener supplier and resource management. These are just some of the ways it can do so.

Supplier management meets sustainability

Sustainability starts long before production. ERP systems enable procurement teams to assess and monitor suppliers not only on cost or delivery terms, but also on their environmental credentials. Integrated supplier data provides businesses with visibility into sustainable sourcing, ethical practices, and packaging materials.

This helps teams make greener decisions and ensure compliance with regulations such as the UK’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) or upcoming EU Digital Product Passport (DPP) requirements.

With real-time supplier scoring, organisations can prioritise partners with low environmental impact, while phasing out those who fall short. The ERP becomes not just a procurement tool, but a sustainable supplier filter.

Resource efficiency and waste reduction

ERP platforms provide granular, real-time insights into how materials, energy, and water are used across the business. This enables manufacturers to optimise resource usage, reduce waste and identify circular economy opportunities such as recycling or reuse.

Inventory and production systems work in tandem to minimise overproduction – traditionally one of the biggest drivers of waste in manufacturing – and avoid stock obsolescence. With ERP, inventory becomes leaner, smarter and greener.

Carbon and energy tracking

Tracking emissions and energy usage is no longer just for enterprise giants. Many modern ERP systems include built-in modules for carbon accounting and energy monitoring.

This allows midsized manufacturers to measure their carbon footprint across operations, benchmark performance, and set meaningful reduction targets, without needing external consultants or complex toolsets.

End-to-end product visibility

Sustainability goes beyond responsible sourcing and must maintain visibility and control across the entire product lifecycle. By capturing detailed data at each stage of production, ERP allows manufacturers to design for sustainability from the outset.

But crucially, it also supports sustainable practices in post-production, from tracking product use and managing returns, to facilitating end-of-life processing through service records, warranty management and reverse logistics. As EPR rules tighten and DPP regulations take shape, ERP will be central to ensuring product traceability, data integrity and environmental compliance.

Automated regulatory compliance

Compliance requirements such as EPR demand extensive data about packaging types, volumes, and sources. For midmarket firms still relying on spreadsheets, and lacking the compliance manpower and resources, this can be a significant operational burden.

But ERP systems can map packaging data to regulatory templates, track costs, and automate reporting. Instead of a scramble to gather information, compliance becomes a byproduct of business as usual.

What’s more, as regulations evolve, whether around packaging, energy, emissions or something else, ERP systems can adapt, keeping manufacturers compliant without manual intervention.

Smart data, smart decisions

Sustainability success depends on decisions made every day. What materials should you order, which supplier should you use, which batch should you run. ERP systems bring together data from procurement, finance, production and logistics, creating a central source of truth.

With that intelligence, organisations can make informed trade-offs between cost, compliance, and environmental impact. ERP doesn’t just support reporting – it shapes strategy.

From burden to business value

For many midsized manufacturers, sustainability can still feel like a cost centre and something that requires substantial effort but delivers little in the way of benefits. But with the right ERP systems in place, it becomes a source of operational efficiency, regulatory confidence and supplier transparency.

In the age of extended responsibility and global scrutiny, digital tools are the key to doing better business, where green is not an added cost, but the default setting. Sustainability should be built into the backbone of modern manufacturing, from sourcing the right suppliers to addressing regulatory compliance. Increasingly, that backbone is ERP.