Innovating Together: Roundtable Insights for a Sustainable Industrial Ecosystem

On June 6, EFESO’s third annual forum “Co-creating a Sustainable Industrial Future – Driving Competitiveness while Ensuring Sustainability” took place at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges (Belgium). This gathering brought together industry leaders and experts from across Europe to explore how companies can balance economic performance with environmental responsibility in light of the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal.

We focused on operational strategies, innovative technologies, and collaborative models that accelerate both sustainability and competitiveness. Below are the key takeaways from each roundtable session:

Lean Qualification Program to Accelerate Results by Empowering the Shopfloor and Leadership

How can we engage and equip shopfloor teams to drive continuous improvement at scale?

This roundtable hosted by Dr. Stefan Schröder, Global Director Operational Excellence & Production Technologies at Kostal; explored the “RACE” Lean Qualification Program; a bottom up, empowerment-driven approach where leadership coaching, site-specific goals, and even awards galvanize the workforce. The key takeaway: sustainable competitiveness demands structured qualification, local ownership, and continuous evolution, even when the most skilled team members are eventually promoted onward.

1. What were the triggers to start with this program?

A sustainable increase in the competitiveness of global production sites. Rather short-term and local initiatives in the past have shown that a focus on a more sustainable solution with international exchange was required.

2. How did you define targets?

The program took a collaborative approach with the sites. It was a bottom-up approach to get buy-in from the sites for the initiative, to understand the local situation and ultimately to pursue realistic/feasible goals.
Basically, we are working together on a combination of the following objectives
Performance
Maturity level
Qualification progress and quality

3. How did you define the maturity level?

The maturity level is essentially determined on the basis of specific criteria relating to the six principles of our production system. These are more than 100 different evaluation criteria.

4. Did you train ALL the employees of the company?

First step: only plant or production-related functions
Currently: Expansion to other functions (administration, R&D, sales, etc.)

5. How did you motivate and engage the shopfloor?

We helped with communication and marketing, but the local plant management was responsible for the specific implementation and local communication.
We gave the program the name “RACE”. This name has become a “brand name” over the years. In the meantime, we have even introduced RACE awards, which are presented annually.
Showing the employees that the future, and in particular a sustainable future, is also important to them and what contribution each individual can make.

6. After some years it is hard to keep the program top of mind, how do you do it?

We always try to point out the next steps and introduce new topics (e.g. revision of the production system, digitalization of shop floor management, ...).

7. Lessons learned

The qualification of employees with high potential has shown that this results in an increased risk of fluctuation and that employees leave the company after a few years (also because they are very well trained after the qualification program). It is important to keep an eye on these employees and create development plans so that they see their future in the company.

8. Best practices

Focus on establishing a culture of continuous improvement: The plants create an annual improvement plan (note that this is also a process that takes time).
Ask production employees for ideas and utilize their knowledge/experience

Decarbonizing our Supply Chain: from Insights to Actions

What does it take to reduce Scope 3 emissions in complex global supply chains? A roundtable hosted by Mandira Nayak, Sustainability Director SLB

Hosted by SLB’s Sustainability Director, Mandira Nayak, this session examined SLB’s ambitious plan to cut Scope 3 emissions by 30% by 2030. In 2021, SLB committed to achieving net-zero emissions across all three scopes by 2050, with interim targets of a 30% reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2025 and a 30% reduction in scope 3 emissions by 2030. The focus of the roundtable discussion was on operationalizing the reduction of scope 3 emissions—equivalent to 48 million tons of CO2—across a global, cross-industry, and highly diverse supply chain. With 20% of these emissions stemming from upstream activities and 80% from downstream, SLB operates within a complex network, characterized by $18-20 billion in annual supplier spending, over a million purchase orders, 1,700 commodity codes, and over 35k suppliers.

The goal is to explore innovative and actionable strategies to create win-win business models that drive both sustainability and competitiveness. This discussion aims to navigate the challenges and opportunities inherent in this ambitious transition. SLB’s approach to reducing Scope 3 emissions by 30% by 2030 evolved through structured focus areas and progressive process steps.

Focus Areas are:

Supply Base Assessment: Understanding supplier emissions, capabilities, and maturity levels.
Data Quality & Maturity: Enhancing the accuracy and usability of emissions data.
Decision Enablement: Embedding carbon impact into operational and strategic decisions.
Integrated Carbon Action Plan: Developing a scalable, end-to-end framework for reduction initiatives.

Pursued steps are:

Foundation & Prototyping: Establishing baseline data, selecting reduction methodologies, piloting solutions.
Enhancing & Enriching: Integrating emissions impact into sourcing, logistics, and operational strategies; refining methodologies and data quality.
Targeting Impact: Embedding carbon action across supplier decisions, strategic supplier positioning, refining operational models, and sustaining the integrated carbon plan.

This journey started with 1.5 years of baseline development, educating over 6,000 supply chain professionals across 110 countries. The prototyping phase catalyzed broader industry collaboration, leading to a 25% supplier disclosure rate in a first phase, which enriched data and further expanded educational efforts (strong lever). Additionally, refining supply chain SOPs enabled climate-conscious planning, operational modeling, and scenario planning.

Now, being in the Targeting Impact phase, key concerns revolve around suppliers who resist change and broader economic and regulatory influences.

Decomposing the objective, it's noticeable that companies have similar challenges with respect to emissions reduction economics:

30% "No-Brainer" Solutions: Easily implementable and cost-effective.
30% No Economic Payback: Dependent strongly on regulatory incentives. In Europe, incentives and regulations ease adoption, but global supply chains pose challenges.
30% No Clear Solution: Uncertainty, especially as Scope 1 and 2 emissions from upstream suppliers become SLB’s Scope 3.

Examples of interesting discussions triggered are around supplier incentives and data capturing and supplier maturity:

1. Supplier Incentives:

Financing Models & Reward Mechanisms: Exploring supplier financing as an incentive structure
"Carrot vs. Stick" Approach: Supporting suppliers through transition rather than imposing penalties.
OEM Influence: Understanding why certain manufacturers push sustainability objectives down the value chain while others do not.
Circularity: Using downstream partners waste in your production, reducing costs and environmental impact.
Already Into the product design (R&D) take into account sustainability & cost
Algin internal objectives (& related KPIs) / operational indicators for internal SLB people to drive change

2. Data Capture & Supplier Maturity:

CDP (NGO) Partnership: Standardizing emissions reporting and supplier engagement. • Supplier Maturity Assessment considers: Evaluating Scope 1 & 2 ambitions, public disclosures, and strategic positioning. • Activity-Based Calculation: Refining emissions estimates using industry-specific approaches at family levels for Pareto Analysis and going deeper to commodity level • Platform Integration: Suggested solutions include ERP-linked reporting tools (e.g., Climate Camp), enhancing data quality control and supplier collaboration.

The initiative is already driving substantial results:

59% reduction in Scope 3 emissions.
SLB rated 'A' for supplier engagement.
€7 million savings
Circularity improvements: Increased reuse of materials, inventory optimization, and shelf-life extension.

However, scaling remains a challenge, particularly:

Cross-industry convergence to streamline supply chain sustainability.
Navigating varying regulations and incentives worldwide.
Building strong business cases for change while balancing cost and scalability.

Concluding, SLB’s strategy emphasizes starting small, enriching along the way, keeping the end goal in sight, and embedding sustainability into decision-making. Identifying and scaling innovative, collaborative business models is crucial for cost-effective, low-carbon operations across the entire value chain. On top of this, it's worth thinking beyond Carbon Footprint: While carbon footprint is the priority, broader sustainability aspects must be considered.

Advancing Circularity as a Key Differentiator to Remain Competitive

How can circularity drive competitive advantage in today’s market?

This roundtable hosted by Patrick Balemans, Chief Sustainability & CSR Officer at ETEX; explored how embedding circular economy principles into product design and operations can boost sustainability and profitability. By rethinking resource use and waste, companies are not just complying with regulations; they’re unlocking innovation and new business models that differentiate them in a crowded marketplace.

Project Overview

As part of ETEX’s global decarbonization roadmap, circularity has emerged as a crucial strategic pillar. One of the standout initiatives is the development of a new plant designed to process waste and end-of-life fibre cement plates. This facility will recover both cement and fibres, enabling their reuse as raw materials in new production cycles. This project is a clear example of how sustainability can drive competitive advantage. By integrating recycled materials into its operations, ETEX not only supports its environmental goals but also unlocks new revenue streams and business models.

Launched in 2018, the project is now approaching a major milestone: the plant is set to become operational later this year.

Key Challenges

Cement remains a highly carbon-intensive material.
The end-of-life phase in construction still lacks structured processes for material take-back, facing logistical and legislative hurdles.
With landfill space rapidly diminishing, the urgency to find sustainable solutions for construction waste is greater than ever.

Key Solutions

Engaging stakeholders across the value chain is essential for launching such initiatives.
Building a robust business model around sustainability ensures long-term viability and shared value creation.
This plant will serve as a pilot, with plans to replicate the model across Europe. The European Union has recognized its potential and is supporting the project through subsidies.

Looking Ahead

Participants in the initiative agree: there is a significant opportunity to build a broader ecosystem for material take-back in the construction industry. With the right legislative frameworks, cross-sector collaboration, and financial incentives, this process can be streamlined and scaled.

The industry must shift its mindset—from demolition to dismantling—to truly embrace circularity.

Product & Process Innovation Generating Positive Business Cases

What innovations truly create value beyond sustainability goals?

This roundtable hosted by Karolien Vanbroekhoven, Research Manager Sustainable Chemistry at VITO; focused on practical product and process innovations that deliver tangible business benefits. From reducing costs to improving quality and customer appeal, the discussion revealed how sustainability initiatives can directly fuel growth and profitability rather than being just compliance exercises.

As the global push for renewable energy intensifies, the challenge of sustainably managing wind turbine blade (WTB) waste becomes increasingly urgent. VITO, is developing solutions that not only addresses the end-of-life problem of the current WTBs but also redefines how these components will be produced and recycled in the future.

There 2 main issues:

How to recycle the increasing volume of WTB which will be decommissioned in the next years. Regulatory will be pushing for recycling, however, in the current climate, no action or burning or landfill is still cheaper to choose.
From the material development phase, how to produce WTB with materials that are safer, greener, and could more easily be recycled.

VITO is developing a solvolysis process to recycle wind turbine blades, recovering both high quality fibers and epoxy resins. This process, once scaled to industrial levels, promises to be economically viable if logistics is in place, and sufficient volumes are processed.

In parallel, VITO is innovating with new, safe, and sustainable materials for blade manufacturing. These materials are:

Safer, with reduced toxicity through polymer lifecycle,
Sustainable, using plant-based inputs and processes that lower the carbon footprint,
Recyclable, ideally compatible with the new solvolysis recycling method.

Key challenges

How to get the proper volume for a viable business case ?
- Waste materials are not “virgin raw materials” and therefore much more regulated, complicated to transport over regions due to regulatory. Moreover, transport costs reduce the economic feasibility of bringing old blades from other countries
- Are there other products from other industries (aerospace, airplanes… ?) that we could use to increase the volume?
How to get the incentives for the industry ?
How to calculate the business case properly including all different aspects like:
- Do the recycling company need to pay for the old blades, or would they get paid via “gate fees” ?
What are the possibilities to cut down the blades in small pieces to reduce the transport costs ?
- What are the different costs in case of off-shore or ground wind farms ?

Key solutions

The participants came with some good new ideas to address or solve these challenges:

Use of ERP (Extended Producer Responsibility) as a criterion for each new Wind Farm project (analoog to Fostplus eg)
Use of Gate Fees as an incentive for recycling companies to take the waste blades
Install EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) and LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) at the level of the windfarm, wind turbine owners decide what components/materials they want to use to remain below the max footprint target.
Develop synergies with the ports to offer integrated solutions for inbound flow of the waste blades.

Any other remaining input

Prevent more regulation, get easier (promoting) incentives for business case development

Building an Ecosystem to Support E2E Sustainability Efforts within the Automotive Industry

How can collaboration across the value chain accelerate sustainability?

This roundtable hosted by Alexandre Loire, Representative Catena-X & Business Developer Manager Galia; addressed the importance of cross-industry ecosystems for enabling end-to-end sustainability in automotive. By aligning suppliers, manufacturers, and partners on shared goals and data transparency, the sector can overcome complexity and scale sustainable solutions more effectively.

Challenges in Current Industry Initiatives

While several similar initiatives have been launched in our industry, progress has been frustratingly slow.
The onboarding process for platforms like CATENA-X can be resource-intensive; preparing and structuring the necessary data as a customer requires significant effort.
There is a lack of awareness of CATENA-X’s initiative, making it difficult to understand who you are engaging with from a business perspective.
The success of any platform hinges on achieving critical mass through strong network effects. Without sufficient participation, the platform’s value proposition diminishes rapidly. As a prospective customer, I need clear assurance that the platform is positioned to scale sustainably — otherwise, the risk of investing significant time and resources becomes too high.