The durability and maintenance category is composed of raw materials that extend the lifetime of products. When product lifetimes are increased, it reduces the number of maintenance stops required and prevents the waste of energy, materials, and other resources.  

Seventy percent of survey respondents already use materials in the durability and maintenance category, making it the second-most common sustainability practice after using materials for health and safety. Another 11% intend to introduce materials for durability and maintenance in the next three years. 

Of countries with significant representation in the State of Sustainability Survey, the United States, Brazil and Mexico lead in the adoption of materials to promote durability. Eighty percent or more of respondents from each of these nations had already started using materials from this category. 

Thirty percent of respondents currently using materials for increased durability are driven primarily by customer / consumer demand. This is no surprise, as customers often see the benefits directly when, for example, their machinery requires less maintenance and can run for longer periods of times without stops. 

Unsurprisingly, technical performance and reduced maintenance stops are also significant factors in this sustainability area. Seventeen percent of respondents call technical performance the primary driver of using materials for increased durability, and 12% call reduced maintenance stops the primary driver. When asked about all the value added by these materials, 37% of respondents include technical performance and 30% include reduced maintenance stops. 

More durable materials can be a strong selling point. Twelve percent of respondents call competitive advantage their primary driver in this category, while 41% call it a value-add of these materials.  

Environmental impact, reduced material costs, regulatory compliance and energy savings are also valued by many of those who have taken steps to increase durability and reduce maintenance needs. 

As with many of the sustainability goals, pricing is a central challenge: 40% of respondents call it their chief issue in this area. Another 30% find their main struggles to be with the functionality of these materials, while 16% find the biggest challenge to be availability. Regulations were a less common problem, but were ranked as the top difficulty in this sustainability area by 10% of respondents. 

Many of the barriers to achieving increased durability come down to issues sourcing appropriate materials. 

Nearly 40% of respondents who intend to work on this sustainability area don’t know which materials to use in order to increase durability and reduce maintenance needs. Twenty-nine percent can’t find good alternatives in their industries, and 19% say the materials that exist don’t have the right technical performance. 

“It cannot be overlooked that finding sustainable materials for durability is challenging; often the materials designed to last are the ones that are harsher on our planet,” says Enrique Ramirez, Industrial Solutions Sales Manager, IMCD Mexico.“That’s why it’s crucial to understand each product's make-up and consider the full picture of sustainability, not just a piece of it in the product selection process.”

While price point (a barrier for 33% of respondents) and lack of customer / consumer demand (a barrier for 14%) are also factors, these issues are in many ways secondary to learning about and finding materials that can perform as needed to replace less sustainable alternatives. 

Respondents say that, in the future, customer / consumer demand (29%), regulatory compliance (24%), and environmental impact (24%) will drive their adoption of materials for increased durability. If these barriers to understanding and finding the right materials can be removed, many businesses may be able to implement these changes sooner rather than later. 

Currently, 78% of respondents in the Americas report using materials with increased durability, compared to 66% in EMEA. Only 14% of respondents from the Americas say they have no plans to use more durable materials now or in the future, while 23% of EMEA respondents report no plans to use such materials. 

While customer / consumer demand is a top driver of this sustainability area in both EMEA and the Americas, it was more frequently selected by respondents in EMEA (33% compared to 23%). EMEA respondents were also more likely to name environmental impact as a primary driver than those in the Americas were (12% compared to 5%). 

In the Americas, respondents more frequently called technical performance the primary driver of introducing materials for increased durability (25% compared to 13% in EMEA). Additionally, regulatory compliance was more commonly called the top driver by respondents in the Americas (12% compared to 5% in EMEA). 

Overall, survey respondents from the Americas and EMEA report similar challenges with using materials for increased durability. 

Those in EMEA reported challenges with regulations more frequently than those in the Americas (14% compared to 5%), but this was not one of the most common issues for respondents in either region. 

The largest companies seem to lag behind when it comes to adopting materials to increase durability. Just under 60% of respondents from businesses with over 1,000 employees have adopted these materials, compared to over 70% from smaller businesses. When asked about challenges in this area, respondents from these companies were more likely to call price their largest issue (45% compared to 38% from midsize and 40% from companies with fewer than 100 employees).  

About half of respondents feel they have an intermediate understanding of this sustainability area. Just under a quarter feel they are experts and a similar amount recognize themselves to be beginners. 

Survey respondents ranked the durability and maintenance category low on the list of most impactful sustainable areas for the next few years, above only manufacturing process improvements and regional sourcing. 

Yet while materials for increased durability may not show their impact at the beginning of products’ life cycles, their value may become more clear as time goes on.