Summary & Goals
The goal of the PLM Green discussion forum and working group on Climate Change, led by Klaus Brettschneider, is to investigate and validate the use of PLM-enabling business strategies and software technologies that can reduce human-generated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We hope to clearly answer the question of what is the role, potential, and value of PLM in addressing the most important challenge facing humankind this century, climate change.
Focus & Objectives
Product Lifecycle Management strategies and systems allow organizations to manage a product’s lifecycle in all its aspects including structures, components, materials, suppliers, and ingredients. Managing the lifecycle from inception to disposal allows organizations today to optimize manufacturing processes, to document its material or ingrediencies composition and to make sure that products comply with local or international regulations.
We firmly believe that PLM can help organizations to understand and analyze the effect of its product design, methods of production, and supply chain choices on their carbon footprint. Accordingly, we seek to educate, collaborate, and advocate for the role of PLM business strategies, enabling technologies, software solutions, and professionals in addressing climate change due to human-generated greenhouse gas emissions.
This includes how the application of PLM tools, processes, and best practices can help assess, reduce, mitigate, and adapt our industries, communities, and economies to the rapidly-intensifying effects of climate change. As example, candidate topics from which we hope to research and document the use of PLM-enabling technologies include:
- make products and processes more efficient, sustainable, and green
- understand the impact on carbon footprint of design and production processes and changes to them
- providing data and processes for performing Life Cycle Assessment
- decarbonize entire industries and economies
- find and develop new sources of renewable green energy
- store and transmit alternative energy supplies
- reduce or sequester human-made carbon emissions
- capture naturally produced greenhouse and methane gasses
- pioneer and deploy green manufacturing processes
- design products and their lifecycles to be environmentally friendly
- simulate and test global geoengineering technologies as solutions
- recycle, reuse, or repurpose assets, materials, and natural resources
- minimize or mitigate the damages to infrastructures from global warming
- monitor a warming planet, changing weather patterns, and impact of climate change
- enhance the resiliency and sustainability of industries, communities and economies
Agenda & Activities
We will be pursuing the objectives by an agenda composed of a number of elements including discussion groups, virtual roundtables, published articles, interviews, industry surveys, and cooperative events with other organizations. Follow our progress, or better yet join us, with an email to info@plmgreenalliance.com.
Announcements & Updates
International members of the PLM Green Global Alliance (PGGA) met recently to discuss the timely new book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need.” The panel discussion was moderated by PGGA co-founder Jos Voskuil with participants Klaus Brettschneider, Lionel Grealou, Patrick Hillberg, Ilan Madjar, and Richard McFall. Listen to the discussion HERE.
Invitation to Participate & Collaborate
To participate in our PLM Green theme sub-group we invite you to first join the PLM Green Global Alliance LinkedIn Group at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12304531/ then contact one of our moderators.
References & Resources
Here we have started creating a curated list of featured white papers, blog posts, presentations, case studies, webinars, and recorded interviews on the role of PLM-enabling technologies in addressing climate change. We invite you to send us examples you have come across in your own work, company, industry, or country to info@plmgreenalliance.com.
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