Sustainability has become a top priority for manufacturers. With 2030 targets fast approaching, many are under pressure to sharpen their net-zero commitments and launch greener projects. Yet uncertainty looms, from tariffs and geopolitical tensions to rising production costs.
The Manufacturer spoke with Natalie Watson, Group Director of Sustainability at The Vita Group. Natalie leads the Group’s sustainability transformation, working across all our businesses to embed sustainability into our strategy and operations.
She is responsible for all ESG disclosures to our various stakeholders, ensuring transparency and alignment with our commitments and strategy. For her, the role is about connecting the dots, between people, data, and purpose – to drive meaningful change.
Speaking about innovation sustainability and times of change and uncertainty, here is what Natalie had to say…
In today’s uncertain times, many manufacturers are prioritising stability over change. Why is it still critical for companies to continue innovating in sustainability?
NW: Prioritising stability isn’t inherently a problem, especially when the waters are choppy. In fact, stability can be a necessary anchor. But we must be cautious not to slip into reactive mode. Regulation and policy often move slowly, and in many cases, it’s up to companies to lead the way.
Innovation is critical. It’s how we prepare for tomorrow’s needs today, this is sustainability 101. It’s about being a responsible business that serves society’s current demands while safeguarding its future. That means meeting market and consumer needs without compromising environmental integrity or social equity.
When we innovate through a sustainability lens; economic resilience, societal wellbeing, and environmental stewardship, we begin to shape a new kind of economy. One that’s less dependent on finite resources, more attuned to long-term value, and better equipped to deliver stability. And that stability, in turn, reduces risk, something investors increasingly recognise. Capital begins to flow away from extractive, dead-end models and toward regenerative, circular ones.
At Vita we recognise that true progress lies in the balance, embracing change while maintaining stability. And sustainability is the lens that helps us do both.
The Vita Group has earned a Platinum Ecovadis status. What key strategies do you think contributed to achieving this?
We’ve been engaging with Ecovadis assessments since 2021, which gave us a strong grasp of the methodology and expectations. That time allowed us to build a roadmap from Silver to Platinum, importantly, we did this organically. We used the assessment to evaluate and refine our sustainability approach, rather than reshaping our business just to meet the criteria.
We started with the low-hanging fruit, identified through a gap analysis. Our annual sustainability report was a key asset; it provided robust data and evidence of our sustainability management system. From there, we took a more holistic view of our operating model, identifying synergies like expanding certifications across our management systems. This wasn’t just about compliance, it was about building the business case for standardisation, better data, and stronger stakeholder engagement. This lens provided us an excellent opportunity to feel confident in advancing with our science-based target validation with the SBTi.
Data management was critical. We focused on increasing coverage while ensuring all data was substantiated, auditable, and evidence-based.
Our sustainability strategy is shaped by four core principles: driving circularity, optimising resources, acting ethically and empowering people.
These principles align closely with Ecovadis’ assessment pillars, which helped us demonstrate consistency and strategic intent.
Third-party validation and peer review are essential for us at Vita. They provide credibility, challenge our thinking, and help us continuously improve.
As mentioned, some manufacturers are concerned about sustainability and ROI. From your experience, how can sustainable innovation drive business growth?
Firstly, it helps to take the word sustainability out of the equation and look at it through lenses businesses already understand revenue, cost, and risk.
If you’re bringing products to market that have a limited shelf life due to evolving market requirements, why invest more capital in producing them? Regulations around recycled and renewable content aren’t going away. Carbon is becoming more expensive. So, to protect future revenue streams, businesses need to innovate now, developing products that meet tomorrow’s standards today.
Switching from volatile energy sources like fossil fuels to more stable renewables has a clear ROI over time. The challenge is when businesses expect instant or short-term returns. That’s where the tension lies, prioritising short-term profit can mean clinging to outdated models. Eventually, those models will lose relevance, and companies will face significant costs as they scramble to catch up or lose market share.
The physical impacts of climate change are real, and so are the transition and liability risks. Making the wrong move, or no move at all, can expose a business to reputational, regulatory, and financial risk. These risks are increasingly material and must be factored into board-level decision-making.
Sustainable innovation is about building resilience, unlocking new markets, and future-proofing the business. When viewed through the right lens, the ROI becomes clear
With procurement playing a pivotal role in supply chain sustainability, how is The Vita Group using procurement to support its goals?
We approach procurement with the same mindset as innovation and other cross-functional partnerships: understanding how sustainability manifests within the function and how we can help future-proof it, linking directly to revenue, cost, and risk.
We start by recognising the increasing competition and limited availability of raw materials, which directly impacts price and sourcing reliability. This understanding shapes our procurement strategy, ensuring it supports long-term business resilience. We actively support sustainability-driven partnerships focused on:
Material selection, prioritising recycled, renewable, and low-impact inputs. As well as supplier selection: working with partners who share our climate-transition ambitions. And climate transition planning, aligning procurement decisions with broader decarbonisation goals.
We also collaborate closely on supplier scoring and metrics, ensuring that buying decisions are informed by sustainability credentials and future innovation potential.
From a financial and operational resilience perspective, we’re embedding carbon considerations into product design; aiming long-term for high recycling rates, increased recycled content, and ultimately, products free from virgin hydrocarbons.
What new technologies or material innovations are you most excited about that could help manufacturers in sustainable production?
One of the most exciting innovations right now is the breakthrough in flexible polyurethane foam technology that we recently showcased at Interzum. For years, recyclability at end-of-life has been possible but what’s truly transformative is the ability to produce foam with high recycled content, significant emission reductions, and no compromise on durability.
We’ve always believed that recyclability shouldn’t come at the cost of “first life” performance. This new concept proves that it doesn’t have to. It’s a major step forward in demonstrating that foam waste can be a valuable resource, not just a challenge to manage.
What excites me most is that this isn’t theoretical, it’s proven. It’s no longer a question of if this can be done, but when it will become mainstream. And beyond the technology itself, what made this milestone memorable was the collaboration, with customers, suppliers, and our own teams. When the right people come together with the right purpose, real progress happens.
That’s the kind of innovation that drives sustainable production forward and gives me goosebumps.
For companies just beginning their sustainability journeys, what advice would you give them? What are the common challenges they will face?
Start by defining your ambition. Do you want a compliance-driven, reactive strategy, focused on meeting regulations and responding to external pressures? If so, begin with landscape mapping: understand the regulatory environment, identify gaps, and evolve your business accordingly.
If your goal is strategic, sustainable, and profitable growth, then sustainability must be embraced as a transformation. That means embedding it into your core business strategy, not treating it as a bolt-on.
Here’s where to start:
- Map your stakeholders.
- Conduct a materiality assessment to identify your most significant sustainability issues.
- Get to know your business deeply through good data and meaningful insights.
- Prioritise your impacts – both positive and negative.
But you will face challenges, common ones include lack of clarity on where to begin, difficulty aligning internal stakeholders, limited data or fragmented system and pressure to show short-term ROI.
But with the right mindset and tools, these challenges can be turned into opportunities for innovation, resilience, and long-term value creation.
What role does collaboration with suppliers, partners, or competitors play in accelerating sustainable innovation?
Collaboration is central to accelerating sustainable innovation. No single company can solve the complex challenges of sustainability alone.
At The Vita Group, we’ve seen firsthand how powerful collaboration can be. Our recent breakthrough in flexible polyurethane foam – developed in partnership with Evonik – is a perfect example. Five years ago, this technology was considered impossible. Today, we’ve proven that foam can be produced with high recycled content, significant emission reductions, and no compromise on durability. That kind of innovation only happens when suppliers, partners, and internal teams come together with shared purpose.
By engaging suppliers and partners early, you gain access to new technologies, better insights, and shared accountability.
Ultimately, sustainable innovation thrives when businesses move beyond competition and toward co-creation. Whether it’s aligning on climate transition plans, improving supplier scoring, or embedding sustainability into procurement decisions, collaboration is the catalyst that turns ambition into action.
How do regulations and customer expectation influence the pace of innovation in sustainability?
Regulations and customer expectations are both powerful drivers of sustainable innovation, but they operate at different speeds.
Policy can be slow to evolve, and that’s a challenge. We often find ourselves ahead of regulation, especially when we’re pushing boundaries in circularity, carbon reduction, or ethical sourcing. That’s why early advocacy is essential; not just at the company level, but through industry-wide collaboration. Trade associations and local authorities play a critical role in shaping policy that’s fit for purpose and future ready. Engaging early helps ensure that regulation supports innovation rather than stifling it.
Finally, what does the future of sustainable manufacturing look like for The Vita Group?
At The Vita Group, the future of sustainable manufacturing will continue to be shaped by viewing revenue, cost, and risk through a sustainability lens. This isn’t just about metrics, it’s about mindset. We’ll keep gathering expertise from across our functions and business units, because the challenges and solutions are always human-centred.
That’s where we start: with people. By focusing on how sustainability manifests in each part of the business, we build a foundation of insight and purpose. From there, we mature our systems, driving intelligence, scalability, and impact through data and innovation.
But for me, it will always come down to the power of partnerships through people. Understanding how the system works today and asking the curious “what if?” questions that have brought us to this point, on the cusp of something quite extraordinary.
I don’t see sustainable manufacturing as a destination; it’s a journey of transformation. And when the right people come together with the right purpose, progress becomes inevitable.
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