Discover how commercial bakeries can balance production efficiency with environmental responsibility. Take our free assessment here.
Understanding These Sample Results
This example reflects typical priorities for mid-sized commercial bakeries, but your unique operations may differ. For customised recommendations that align with your production type, scale, sourcing practices, and sustainability goals, take our 5-minute materiality assessment quiz. You’ll receive a tailored action plan designed to reduce waste, conserve resources, and improve operational efficiency while meeting growing consumer demand.
How We Identify Key Impact Areas
Our tool evaluates nine manufacturing-specific sustainability pillars:
View the sample report below to explore them all in detail.
Using double materiality principles, we evaluate both:
Your Custom Sustainability Roadmap
This sample roadmap focuses on high-impact, achievable steps, starting strong with 3 quick wins:
Build Momentum: Targeted Strategies
Each priority area includes expert-backed solutions like:
Track & Share Progress
We emphasise transparent reporting frameworks to help you:
If you manufacture products of any kind, transform generic advice into industry-specific solutions and Take our free assessment to receive a roadmap addressing your brand’s unique challenges.
We've estimated your sustainability priorities based on your answers. For a precise evaluation, it would be best to speak to an expert.
There's a lot to consider, but to maximise your efforts here are 3 high impact actions to start with.
Design better products that are efficient, reduce waste through circular design and use low-impact materials. Better products reduce your environmental impact while attracting conscious consumers and brand loyalty.
Add pre-treatment systems and filtration units to clean wastewater before discharge. These systems remove contaminants, balance pH levels, and help you meet environmental regulations while protecting local waterways.
Switch to renewable energy by installing solar panels or wind turbines. Generating your own power not only significantly reduces your carbon footprint but also reduces energy costs and provides energy security for your operations.
Managing chemicals and preventing pollution in manufacturing processes. Safer materials and emissions control protect workers, communities, and the environment while reducing liability.
Add pre-treatment systems and filtration units to clean wastewater before discharge. These systems remove contaminants, balance pH levels, and help you meet environmental regulations while protecting local waterways.
Use low-NOx burners, more efficient combustion technology and cleaner fuels to reduce air pollution. These simple upgrades help meet regulations and save on energy costs.
Install spill prevention, secondary containment systems and leak monitoring to catch chemical leaks and spills before they cause harm. Smart prevention saves cleanup costs and protects both people and the environment.
Replace hazardous chemicals with safer substitutes that perform the same function with less risk. Safer alternatives reduce potential harm from spills and leaks while maintaining production quality.
Switch to low-toxicity cleaning and production chemicals that won't contaminate wastewater. These greener alternatives reduce treatment needs and protect water systems while still getting the job done right.
Add electrostatic precipitators, air scrubbers or filters to remove harmful particulates and chemicals from process emissions. These systems efficiently trap pollutants, protecting both workers and the environment.
Replace traditional chemicals with low-VOC alternatives in your adhesives, coatings, and cleaning agents. These safer options reduce noxious fumes, improve air quality, and create healthier workspaces.
Selecting sustainable inputs and designing better products. Your material choices determine your environmental footprint and directly impact the sustainability of your finished goods.
Design better products that are efficient, reduce waste through circular design and use low-impact materials. Better products reduce your environmental impact while attracting conscious consumers and brand loyalty.
You've indicated you also retail your products, which can have its own sustainability considerations. Please check out further retail-specific sustainability actions by completing the questionnaire again and selecting the Retail sector.
Increase recycled content in your manufacturing inputs. Using recycled materials prevents valuable resources from going to landfill, can lower costs, and appeals to sustainability-minded customers.
Choose suppliers with recognised sustainability credentials like FSC or conflict-free minerals. Certified partners ensure the materials going into your products are free from supply chain hazards and protect your reputation.
Managing energy use and emissions in manufacturing operations. Smart energy choices reduce production costs, minimise climate impact, and prepare your business for a low-carbon future.
Switch to renewable energy by installing solar panels or wind turbines. Generating your own power not only significantly reduces your carbon footprint but also reduces energy costs and provides energy security for your operations.
Optimise your inbound and outbound logistics for maximum efficiency. Work with logistics partners and freight providers that prioritise low emissions options, which reduce the footprint of your product.
Replace fuel-using equipment with electric or hydrogen-powered alternatives. These cleaner technologies reduce emissions, future-proof your operations against rising fuel prices, and attract climate-conscious customers.
Implement an ISO 50001-aligned energy management system to systematically reduce consumption. This structured approach helps identify, track, and continuously improve energy efficiency across operations.
Conduct an energy audit to discover where you may be wasting power. With many power-hungry machines in manufacturing and processing, optimising their efficiency can make a significant difference to your energy bills.
Business travel can be a significant contribution to your company's carbon footprint, especially premium flight classes. Reducing the need for frequent travel, such as encouraging virtual meetings and train over air, can reduce this and make for happier employees.
Creating safe, fair conditions for manufacturing staff. Healthy, respected employees are more productive, have fewer accidents, and help maintain quality and efficiency in production.
Align your practices with ILO International Labour Standards while ensuring you meet all local labour laws and industry agreements. Meeting these standards protects your workers' rights and protects your business against legal and reputational issues.
Implement comprehensive health and safety practices to protect your staff from harm. Strong safety protocols and culture protect your team, avoid legal risks, and create a more productive environment.
Foster an environment where employees feel valued, supported, listened to and empowered. A positive culture, inclusion of diversity, employee consultation and mental health protections boost morale, reduce turnover and attract top talent.
Create comprehensive policies that establish clear standards and expectations of employees and business partners. Well-crafted policies reduce risk to your business by ensuring staff alignment and also enable you to articulate business commitments to new starters and stakeholders.
Managing water consumption in manufacturing processes. Efficient water use reduces utility costs, minimises environmental impact, and helps future-proof against water scarcity issues.
Adopt low-water processes and cleaning methods in your operations. Water efficient approaches reduce utility costs, minimise wastewater, and help future-proof your business against water scarcity.
Implement systems to capture, treat, and reuse water within your operations. Recycling water reduces consumption, cuts utility bills, lessens your impact on local water resources and protects your business against future water scarcity.
Install systems to collect and use rainwater for appropriate manufacturing and cleaning processes. Free water from the sky reduces utility costs and decreases pressure on local water supplies during dry periods.
Implement closed-loop cooling systems for your manufacturing equipment and ambient temperature control. Recirculating water significantly reduces consumption while effectively maintaining optimal operating temperatures.
Minimising waste materials from manufacturing processes. Reducing production waste cuts disposal costs, conserves resources, and often identifies opportunities to recover value.
Apply lean principles to minimise material waste, offcuts and defective products. Streamlined processes not only reduce waste but typically improve productivity, quality, and your bottom line.
Conduct waste audits to identify opportunities to reduce and recycle waste throughout your facility. Understanding your waste streams helps implement targeted programs to avoid them, cutting disposal costs and environmental impact.
Connect with circular economy partners who can use your manufacturing by-products. One company's waste becomes another's resource, creating new value streams while reducing disposal costs.
Partner with suppliers to reduce and take back packaging. Returnable packaging systems cut waste, reduce materials costs, and simplify handling for both you and your suppliers.
Optimise packaging with recyclable, reusable, or eco-friendly materials. Reduce waste, cut costs, and align with increasing demand for greener products.
Select logistics providers who minimise and reuse packaging, pallets, crates, nets, etc. Minimising waste throughout the supply chain helps reduce the overall footprint of your product and appeal to planet-minded customers.
Create product packaging that uses less and lower impact materials while maintaining quality and protection. Thoughtful design reduces waste, improves recyclability, cuts shipping costs, and attracts planet-conscious customers.
Focus on building strong relationships with communities near manufacturing sites to minimize impacts and create social value through engagement.
Implement noise and odor controls while actively consulting with your local community. Building open relationships and addressing concerns helps create goodwill and prevents conflicts before they arise.
Ensuring your manufacturing business operates ethically and transparently. Strong governance reduces risks, builds trust with stakeholders, and protects your business reputation.
Implement a structured EMS to monitor and manage environmental emissions and hazards. A clear system provides transparency and ensures compliance while driving continuous improvement.
Collect data on your environmental and social footprint. Tracking performance helps identify opprortunities for improvement and demonstrate progress to stakeholders.
Develop a sustainability strategy that identifies your specific environmental and social priority areas with clear targets and an action plan to achieve them. A focused roadmap aligns your team and drives meaningful change.
Report on your sustainability commitments and progress honestly and transparently, and aligned with best practice frameworks. Sharing both the good and the bad builds trust with customers, staff, and stakeholders while showcasing your efforts.
Pursue certifications that validate your sustainability efforts, either in your facilities or the product itself. Achieving recognised standards demonstrates leadership, builds credibility and attracts partnerships.
Support local community causes and environmental initiatives that are relevant to your business or stakeholders. Creating positive impact for people and planet builds goodwill, strengthens ties, and demonstrates your values in action.
Regulatory requirements are evolving rapidly, get started on collecting data with Sustainability Tracker's Digital Labels to gain a competitive edge.
Ensure accurate, compliant information on all products. Clear, honest labeling builds customer trust and helps shoppers make informed choices that match their needs and values.
Document your commitment and approach to sustainability with policies and procedures. This maintains consistency, enables you to demonstrate the concrete steps in place to stakeholders and sets you up for future certification.
A materiality assessment is a method for commercial bakeries to identify and prioritise the most critical environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, such as energy use, waste management, and ingredient sourcing.
Bakeries need a materiality assessment to focus on issues like reducing food waste, improving energy efficiency, and ensuring fair labor practices, which can lower costs, meet customer expectations, and comply with regulations.
The process includes engaging stakeholders, analysing business impacts, and ranking issues by importance. For bakeries, this might involve assessing water and energy use, supply chain ethics, and operational waste.
It’s recommended to review your materiality assessment at least annually, or when there are major changes in your operations, regulations, or stakeholder priorities.
Start with our industry-specific materiality assessment quiz for bakeries. This will help you pinpoint your most important sustainability priorities and create a tailored action plan.