On November 11th, we celebrated our 5th anniversary of the PLM Green Global Alliance (PGGA) with a webinar where Jos Voskuil (me) interviewed the five other PGGA core team members about developments and experiences in their focus domain, potentially allowing for a broader discussion.
In our discussion, we focused on the trends and future directions of the PLM Green Global Alliance, emphasizing the intersection of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Sustainability.
The PLM strategy consultancy CIMdata has published a new commentary on “How PLM is Decarbonizing Automotive Transport—Amid Political Uncertainty.” The publication was authored by PLM Green Global Alliance participant Mark Reisig, Executive Consultant at CIMdata, and Ameya Joshi, CEO and Founder of MobilityNotes.
In announcing the commentary CIMdata’s Cheryl Peck writes: “In this new commentary from CIMdata, we explain how PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) is a strategic tool for the automotive industry to achieve decarbonization. Despite political uncertainty in the U.S., PLM enables manufacturers to maintain momentum by focusing on global sustainability demands from Europe, China, and other markets. Decarbonization is no longer just a regulatory issue; it’s a competitive necessity driven by investors and consumers. Ultimately, companies that use PLM to embed sustainability—through electrification, circularity, and materials management—will be best positioned to succeed.”
The PLM Green Global Alliance held a meeting earlier this summer to kick off the establishment of the new Design for Sustainability (DfS) workgroup. Organized by PLM Green cofounder Jos Voskuil and then led by theme moderators Erik Rieger and Matthew Sullivan, the attendees explored each of their various special interests as the DfS topic incorporates many dimensions that vary by both industry and global region.
Just before the summer holidays the PLM Green Global Alliance was pleased to resume our interview series on PLM and Sustainability where we talk with PLM-related software vendors to discuss their sustainability missions and offerings.
Following recent discussions in the PLM ecosystem, including PSC Transition Technologies (EcoPLM), CIMPA PLM services (LCA), and the Design for Sustainability working group (with multiple vendors & service partners), we now have the opportunity to catch up with Sustaira after almost three years.
(The following post from PLM Green Global Alliance cofounder Jos Voskuil first appeared in his European PLM-focused blog HERE.)
Within the PLM Green Global Alliance (PGGA), we had an internal kick-off meeting related to the topic of Design for Sustainability (DfS). As you might have seen on our website, Erik Rieger, PLM Evangelist and now working for PTC, took the initiative to start this focus group. Continue reading
PLM Green Global Alliance contributor Mark Reisig recently led a CIMdata webinar on “Sustainability Trends Within PLM” on April 10, 2025.
Key topics of the agenda that Mark covered include:
This new post from the PLM Green Global Alliance (PGGA) is next in a series on “Leaders in PLM & Sustainability” where we interview professionals from around the world who are working at the intersection of Product Lifecycle Management and Sustainability.
Our goal for these profiles is to recognize and encourage professionals who are contributing to the greening of PLM across their own work, industry, customers, and suppliers. This is fundamental to PGGA’s mission of creating a global network between professionals who use, develop, research, market, consult, teach, or support PLM business strategies, enabling technologies, and software solutions that have value in transitioning to a more sustainable global economy. As demonstrated by our non-commercial website, we execute this mission by educating, collaborating, and advocating for the role of PLM in creating a circular economy of low-carbon products and processes.
As referenced in our first profile featuring Mark Reisig, our second one recognizing Jos Voskuil, and third featuring Dave Duncan, there are numerous technical, economic, and geopolitical challenges in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by the end of this decade as climate scientists warn us is so critical. Yet, with each of these hurdles there are many rewarding “hands-on” career opportunities to participate in what may be the most important application of PLM we will ever experience.
We are excited to announce that our next recognized “Leader in PLM & Sustainability” is Klaus Brettschneider. Klaus is Director of Sustainability Solutions and SAP PLM Practice Lead at the U.S. based consultancy Linx-AS. Klaus was one of the first contributors to PLM Green where he shares his expertise as a moderator leading our coverage of Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) and Climate Change. He holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental technology from the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich and a Certificate in Corporate Sustainability and Innovation from Harvard University. Increasingly relevant, Klaus has experience deploying enterprise-wide PLM solutions internationally in both the U.S. and Europe, spanning industries and business cultures which often have different expectations and norms for both PLM and sustainability initiatives.
There is no denying that January 2025 was a sobering month for news about climate change. The month started with the devastating fires in Southern California, made worse by a warming climate, and ended with deconstruction of U.S. federal government agencies, funding, staff, websites, data, policies, and agreements related to climate change.
Yet, there was also encouraging news from around the world in that the momentum toward a more sustainable low-carbon greener global economy appears unstoppable by any one country, for which many Americans like myself can be ever so thankful. You can follow this progress in other posts, newsletters, and panel discussions from the PLM Green Global Alliance.
To see what climate news you might have missed in your own news feeds last month, read on in the latest Climate Change Chronicles which is presented below in approximate chronological order.
The following post first appeared in PLM Green cofounder Jos Voskuil’s European weblog “PLM and Sustainability: talking with CIMPA” on 6 January 2025.
Most times in this PLM and Sustainability series, Klaus Brettschneider and Jos Voskuil from the PLM Green Global Alliance core team speak with PLM related vendors or service partners.
The PLM Green Global Alliance (PGGA) announces that a new study theme focused on Design for Sustainability (DfS) has been established which will be led by PLM Green contributing moderator Erik Rieger from Transition Technologies PSC Germany.
PLM Green’s mission is to educate, advocate, and collaborate across the boundaries of technical disciplines, industries, and international borders to promote the use of Product Lifecycle Management strategies, technologies, and software tools in the transition to a sustainable decarbonized circular economy. There are many applications of PLM that can contribute to this transition as referenced in PLM Green Examples.
Due to the wide variety of these PLM use cases, the PGGA previously created five core study themes hat examine the application of PLM within: Sustainability, Green Energy, Circular Economy, Climate Change, and Life Cycle Assessment. Each special interest activity is led by expert moderators who presently include Jos Voskuil from TacitIT, Klaus Brettschneider from LinxAS, Mark Reisig from CIMdata, Patrice Quencez from CIMPA PLM Services, and Richard McFall from PLM Alliances. The PGGA also acknowledges prior contributions from Ilan Madjar of XLM Solutions, Hannes Lindfred from TrusTrace, Bjorn Fidjeland from PLM Partners, and Lionel Grealou from XlifeCycle.
This is the third in a new series of posts from the PLM Green Global Alliance (PGGA) on “Leaders in PLM & Sustainability” where we profile and interview professionals from around the world who are working at the intersection of PLM and Sustainability.
Our goal for these profiles is to both recognize and encourage PLM professionals who are contributing to the greening of Product Lifecycle Management in their own work and industry. This is core to PGGA’s mission of growing a mutually supportive global network between professionals who use, develop, research, market, consult, teach, or support PLM business strategies, technologies and software solutions that have value in transitioning to a more sustainable global economy and environmental ecosystems. We execute this mission by focusing on educating, collaborating, and advocating for the role of PLM in creating a circular economy of low-carbon products and processes.
As referenced in our first profile featuring Mark Reisig, and then our second one recognizing Jos Voskuil, there are numerous technical challenges and career opportunities in leveling then lowering greenhouse gas emissions by the end of this decade as climate scientists warn us is so critical. It’s an exciting time to participate in what may prove to become the most important application of PLM many of us will experience in our careers.
We are now excited to announce that our next recognized “Leader in PLM & Sustainability” is Dave Duncan, who is Vice President of Sustainability at PTC, a well-known provider of PLM-enabling solutions including Windchill and Arena.
It’s motivating to witness so many Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) professionals, educators, consultants, and solution providers become active in creating a more sustainable, low-carbon, circular economy. Only a few years ago when one googled the terms “PLM and Sustainability” or “PLM and Sustainable Product Design” there were very few results. Now there are so many resources that vendors are paying for sponsored rankings; one of the reasons the PLM Green LinkedIn Group has become popular as an alternative non-commercial community platform.
This is the second in a new series of posts on “Leaders in PLM and Sustainability” from the PLM Green Global Alliance where we profile professionals from around the world who are working at the intersection of PLM and Sustainability. As referenced in our first profile featuring Mark Reisig at CIMdata, there are many challenging opportunities in R&D and NPD for our profession as time is running out to lower greenhouse gas emissions by the end of this decade as climate scientists warn us is crucial.
Our next recognized “Leader in PLM and Sustainability” is Jos Voskuil who is one of the original co-founders of the PLM Green Global Alliance, started back in 2020 when we were all locked down due to COVID with more time and freedom to think about big issues.
Our latest PLM Green Global Alliance post is a guest author contribution from Roger Franz who is a recognized authority on supply chain reporting for compliance with worldwide regulations, leveraging his decades of experience with engineering software tools and enterprise IT systems.
Previously, Roger shared his professional passion and special expertise for sustainable product design in “PLM Tools to Design for Sustainability.” His new article on plastics pollution is especially timely, given all the recent scientific papers about the widespread presence of plastics in our natural ecosystems, food sources, and no longer surprising, human bodies.
More than just unsightly “plastics pollution,” the volume of consumer plastics and lack of closed-loop recovery has created a significant micro-and nano-plastics problem. These invisible plastic particles are found around the world including within animal and human tissues. For several reasons, including a much smaller volume of plastic used in electrotechnical products compared to consumer plastics, and the generally longer life of hardware compared to the rapid turnover of consumer goods and packaging, the microplastics problem is not generally tagged as a major electronics problem – or at least not yet. Now is the time to be proactive.
It has been very encouraging over the past few years to witness so many Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) professionals become active in the sustainability transition as it becomes increasingly important to our global economy.
In this our next series of posts from the PLM Green Global Alliance we will feature and interview those PLM professionals from around the world whom we consider leaders in driving our profession to create a more sustainable, low carbon, circular economy. There is much innovation in R&D and NPD to be led by these professionals as time is running out to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the end of this decade, which climate scientists warn us is critical.
Our first recognized “Leader in PLM and Sustainability” is Mark Reisig who is an Executive Consultant and the Sustainability & Green Energy Practice Director at the global PLM market consultancy CIMdata. Mark also volunteers his time and expertise to PLM Green as a moderator of the Sustainability and Green Energy topical research themes.
The latest PLM Green post “A PLM Perspective on New ISO Standards for the Circular Economy” is from CIMPA PLM Services who shares a timely summary, with references, of emerging international standards that are guiding the transition to a more sustainable low-carbon circular economy.
The circular economy, which promotes sharing, reusing, refurbishing, remanufacturing, and recycling, lies at the core of global sustainable development initiatives. With the release of three pivotal ISO standards — ISO 59004, ISO 59020, and ISO 59010 — the way we approach the circular economy is undergoing a significant transformation.
One of the attributes I have always admired of engineers, scientists, and consultants is that they are not intimidated by big urgent problems, but instead are inspired by confronting them head on. They often run towards the challenges made visible by bad news, not turning away or becoming depressed by it all. Many appear most excited and hopeful when analyzing the sources of problems and innovating new solutions to address them. I see this often in my fellow PLM Green collaborators.
That said, we know that the public at large and political leaders often ignore the biggest problems in front of them – or become too easily distracted by topics that are less important – until they are forced to do so. Unfortunately, history reminds us that this reckoning often happens too late when many of the less painful options are already off the table.
Recently, I (Mark Reisig) delivered a CIMdata webinar titled, “Sustainability & PLM: An Industrial Perspective.” For those of you who were unable to attend I am excited to share the following summary of key points that I made. You can also view the recorded webinar here at your leisure.
The following history of the PLM Green Global Alliance is from our co-founder Jos Voskuil who shares his passion and mission for the role of PLM in creating a more sustainable, low-carbon, circular economy.
I am happy to see that the number of members of our PLM Green Global Alliance on LinkedIn has been growing fast recently.
Early this year, we reached 1000 members; now, as of this post, we have almost 1200 members in our LinkedIn group—a growth of 20 % in less than half a year!
Each member of the #plmgreen alliance has a unique story and reason for joining.
I’m genuinely interested in learning more about your motivation. To kick off this conversation, I am sharing my journey, and I am eager to hear your thoughts, comments, and suggestions.
The global-leading PLM consultancy CIMdata has announced an educational webinar on “Sustainability and PLM: The Industrial Perspective” to be held on July 11, 2024, at 11 am EDT US.
The PLM Green Global Alliance (PGGA) is much more than a growing LinkedIn Group! We are an international community of professionals who work with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) enabling technologies and are collaborating, educating, and advocating for a more sustainable decarbonized circular economy.
