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.

Topics discussed during the meeting included:

• Current trends related to DfS – for most companies, they are in the concept phase, exploring the options, so we are early on.
• As a group, we agreed to develop a comprehensive shopping list of best practices tailored to each activity and industry as one of the outcomes.
• We identified two main tracks – one starting from technology and data practices, and another starting from a people, organization, and data need approach. At this stage, the group is not quite large enough to work along two different tracks.
• Compared to earlier discussions two years ago, it was noticeable that the topic has matured beyond marketing hype. Additionally, software vendors have enhanced their capabilities through collaborations with their leading customers.

Next steps included:

• The core DfS team will develop a proposal for focus groups and outline the next steps.
• All participants should reach out to their networks to recruit more members for the working group. In addition, we will explore the possibility of proposing sustainability topics for student projects at universities.
• A follow-up meeting with the attendees and potential new candidates will be planned after the summer holiday, to be initiated by Erik & Matt.

With most attendees primarily from the software and consultancy industries, it was clear that the DfS topic requires further awareness of and involvement from engineers working in companies that already (or soon hope to) incorporate DfS practices. However, it was the right size group to have an initial discussion to get organized and we appreciate all who participated.

To learn more or participate in future meetings, visit the Design for Sustainability workgroup page on the PLM Green website HERE and then contact our theme moderator Erik Rieger.