The latest PLM Green Global Alliance post is authored by Klaus Brettschneider, principal moderator for our Life Cycle Assessment study theme and Director of Sustainability Products for PLM consultancy Linx-AS.
Engineers and designers in New Product Development (NPD) and Research & Development (R&D) play a critical role in shaping the sustainability of products, processes, and systems. A McKinsey study documented that while product R&D in the manufacturing industry only accounts for 5% of a product’s cost, the decisions made then influence up to 80% of the resources ultimately consumed, thus defining the product’s environmental footprint.
As a result, NPD and R&D departments are increasingly expected to incorporate aspects of sustainability into their product designs and usage. A holistic understanding of the product’s environmental impact throughout its entire life cycle, from the material sourcing to manufacturing, distribution, usage, repair, and end-of-life disposition becomes necessary.
Decarbonization, the use of renewable energy, electric mobility, heating solutions, and the energy transition will only occur if a smart, secure, distributed grid is completed in time. A simple analogy would be building a house without a foundation. Now, let’s project out to 2030. Suppose you recharge your electric vehicle (EV) with electricity from the existing grid. In that case, the energy could still originate from fossil fuels because an intended renewable energy project was not completed or could not connect to the existing grid. In this scenario, the EV helps our decarbonization efforts, but the energy used to make the electricity doesn’t. Ideally, we would recharge EVs with electricity over a smart grid from renewable sources with zero emissions.