According to The Future of Product Lifecycle Management and Digital Engineering, a 2025 global survey of 656 executives across Europe, Japan, and the U.S., companies with mature PLM platforms and integrated digital threads are achieving faster AI adoption, better compliance outcomes, and stronger sustainability performance. Yet the majority still struggle to bridge operational silos and unlock full lifecycle traceability.
Embedding Sustainability Through Digital Threads
Sustainability has evolved from a reputational priority to a business-critical mandate. Today, customers, regulators, and investors increasingly expect measurable environmental progress—not just ambitions. Yet for many manufacturers, sustainability remains disconnected from day-to-day operations, hindered by siloed systems and limited visibility.
A digital thread, defined as a continuous, contextual data framework spanning the product life cycle, offers a structural solution. It enables companies to link sustainability targets directly to design, procurement, production, and service decisions. Instead of relying on static reports or average estimates, leaders can use real-time data to assess carbon footprint, material waste, and energy use across supply chains.
According to the 2025 survey, 92% of industrial leaders now view sustainability as critical to business success. However, only a fraction believe their digital infrastructure is fully equipped to support these goals, revealing a persistent execution gap.
Digital threads help close that gap by embedding sustainability metrics into early-stage decisions. For instance, a manufacturer evaluating packaging options can simulate trade-offs between compostable materials, emissions impact, and regulatory compliance – balancing cost, environmental benefit, and design constraints in one unified view.
This transition from post-hoc analysis to predictive, design-led decision-making is reshaping how companies approach sustainability as an operational capability, not just a reporting requirement.
PLM Powers Sustainable Innovation
Sustainability goals are rarely achieved in isolation. They rely on complex, interdependent activities—from supplier transparency and material selection to manufacturing efficiency and end-of-life recovery. This is where digital threads, enabled by flexible PLM platforms, become central.
Traceability is a critical component. A digital thread allows for upstream and downstream tracking of product data—from material origin and design inputs to field performance and recycling. In regulated industries such as aerospace or medical devices, this traceability is essential not only for compliance, but for managing environmental impact and maintaining quality across product iterations.
Digital twins further extend the power of the thread. By simulating product behavior in digital form, companies can test sustainability scenarios before a product is made—predicting recyclability, minimizing resource use, and optimizing maintenance for longevity.
Yet even with rising investment in these tools, survey results show that 37% of companies still lack the infrastructure to fully support compliance initiatives, and many rely on outdated methods like email or static file exchanges to share sustainability data with suppliers.
This underscores a critical point – digital threads are not just about internal alignment. They are the infrastructure for cross-functional and cross-enterprise collaboration—bringing engineering, manufacturing, procurement, and regulatory teams into a shared, data-driven process. When used strategically, they transform sustainability from a static obligation into a coordinated capability.
Bridging Intent with Execution
The 2025 survey findings reveal a familiar but pressing challenge: most industrial organizations are clear on what they aim to achieve – sustainability, compliance, innovation – but far fewer are equipped to translate those aims into integrated, day-to-day operations. The digital thread, supported by a flexible PLM platform, offers a practical mechanism to close that gap.
Its value lies not in transformation for its own sake, but in making decision-making more consistent, traceable, and informed – across product design, supplier engagement, and manufacturing processes. When embedded thoughtfully, digital threads help organizations shift from working around sustainability goals to working through them, enabling progress that is measured, operational, and enduring.
