Reshoring manufacturing is accelerating, largely driven by supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic. Companies are learning that they can’t get their products from overseas, especially China and Russia. While this is no doubt good for creating American jobs, there might be an unintended benefit to this as well: sustainability.

WorldPorts.org goes into detail about this.

“Due to the proximity of the supply chain network, reshoring is expected to positively impact the scope 3 carbon emissions from supplier transportation and distribution,” said Makarand Karanjikar, senior vice president of supply chain deployment at Schneider Electric.

Karanjikar said the pandemic was “key in identifying vulnerabilities in supply chains and how prone they are to disruption.” Schneider Electric is aiming to have at least two sources for all of its critical parts and raw materials by the end of 2023.

“We have eliminated our dependence on any single country or region to avoid any geopolitical risks, and we are also driving some specific regionalization programs to shorten our supply chain and to manufacture close to our customers,” Karanjikar said.

Shifting operations from abroad back to the U.S. can lower greenhouse gas emissions in two ways: from avoiding emissions associated with shipping goods long distances overseas and from reducing emissions associated with production. That’s because the shorter you make the transportation cycle, the more you reduce your carbon footprint.