Indian manufacturers looking to invest in sustainable practices to boost profits as part of Industry 5.0 shift 

Sustainability seems to be a key focus for a large number of Indian manufacturers as they look to significantly increase their profits over the next few years. Covering six industries, a new study by PwC India found that 93% of Indian manufacturers are embracing Industry 5.0 to drive both sustainable practices and boost revenues.

“More than 50% of Indian manufacturers are prioritising investments this year in sustainable practices. These investments are aimed at leveraging digital technologies to adopt renewable energy sources and enhance energy efficiency, among other things,” said the report titled ‘Decoding the Fifth Industrial Revolution: Marching towards a resilient, sustainable and human-centric future’.

Significantly, the study found that most executives agree that their readiness pertaining to Industry 5.0 capabilities relevant for their customers, workforce, supply chains, business models, and ESG commitments would help enhance their revenues by 6.42 percent on average over the next one to two years.

While Industry 4.0 technologies helped achieve efficiency-driving automation, the focus of Industry 5.0 is on fruitful collaboration between humans and technology to drive sustainability and to make production and manufacturing systems more resilient to external shocks, and ready to respond to business challenges with agility.

“Industry 5.0 builds a symbiotic relationship between humans and advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and IoT, helping raise human productivity and opening new production possibilities that are automated, safer, sustainable and resilient,” said the report.

It also found that 52 percent of top executives at leading manufacturing companies are also allocating investments this year towards building a culture of lifelong learning.

Sudipta Ghosh, Partner and Industrial Products Leader of PwC India, said, “Industry 5.0 represents a defining moment for the manufacturing sector – one that creates a symbiotic relationship between humans and advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and the internet of things (IoT).”

He further noted that companies that fast-track their adoption of these capabilities will establish a competitive edge in the coming years, as transformation is crucial for building a sustainable and resilient future with humans as an integral part of this transformative journey.

The research was conducted between May and July, covering 180 senior executives from the automotive, cement, chemicals, industrial goods, metals, and textiles and clothing industries.