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.
Climate Change Chronicles December 2022 - This month's Climate Change Chronicles from the PLM Green Global Alliance provides a quick-to-scan summary of news from around the world during December 2022 about the changing climate and its impact on people and the planet. Our good news question of the month: what laboratory announced a breakthrough in nuclear… Continue Reading
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PLM & Sustainability August 2022 - Experienced Product Lifecycle Management professionals, consultants, and solution providers all know that the biggest obstacle to implementing a PLM strategy is not in technology or software, but in business organizational cultures that resist critical self-examination and change, despite being confronted by inconvenient facts which threaten their performance or even survival.… Continue Reading
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Decarbonizing the Atmosphere Opportunities and Cautions - “Decarbonizing the Atmosphere: Opportunities and Cautions” is a comprehensive article written for engineering professionals in the Spring 2022 issue of The Bent magazine from the Tau Beta Pi engineering professional society. The article summarizes the massive scope of the technical challenge to stop emitting new greenhouse gasses, like C02 and… Continue Reading
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Climate Change News Digest April 2022 - The latest Climate Change News Digest for April 2022, prepared for followers of the PLM Green Global Alliance LinkedIn Group, summarizes in one place the most important monthly news from around the world about the changing climate and progress in decarbonizing the global economy. Our good news question of the month:… Continue Reading
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IPCC 6th Report Climate Change 2022 - The IPCC has released the second part of the Sixth Assessment Report, "Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability" during the 12th Session of Working Group II and 55th Session of the IPCC. A summary of important policy statements extracted from the report include the following: "Human-induced climate change, including more frequent… Continue Reading
Digital Technologies and the Environment from Diplo - A discussion on "Digital Technologies and the Environment: A Synergy for the Future" was held on February 17, 2022 that was promoted by the NGO event organizer Diplo, as: "Digital technologies can amplify efforts to mitigate climate change and, as such, are becoming part of environmental and digital policies on… Continue Reading
Did Engineers Cause the Climate Crisis? - In this provocative article from Digital Engineering "Engineers Caused the Climate Emergency - Only We Can Save the World From It" the author Stephen Ferguson writes: "If we are going to avoid, or even mitigate, the devastating effects of anthropological climate change, then, in the next twenty to thirty years,… Continue Reading
PLM Plays Part Tracking Carbon Footprint in DE - In this Digital Engineering commentary, PLM Green Global Alliance contributor and climate change theme moderator Klaus Brettschneider examines the role of PLM in tracking the carbon footprint of products and processes. Download and read the full article HERE. Continue Reading
Climate Change News Digest January 2022 - The latest Climate Change News Digest for January 2022, prepared for followers of the PLM Green Global Alliance, summarizes recent news about the changing climate, including preliminary data from calendar year 2021. While many of the atmospheric climate trends are still negative, it does not diminish the recent progress in… Continue Reading
Speed & Scale Climate Action Plan – Book Discussion - The PLM Green Global Alliance invites current and future followers to participate in a review and discussion of the new book from esteemed venture capitalist John Doerr, “Speed & Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now.” Learn more about this very timely book and what others have… Continue Reading
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Science Based Targets Initiative - The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) drives ambitious climate action in the private sector by enabling companies to set science-based emissions reduction. Science-based targets provide companies with a clearly-defined path to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement goals. The PLM Green Global Alliance recommends the SBTi website at… Continue Reading
Dassault Systemes Announces Climate Commitment - Leading PLM solution provider Dassault Systemes has announced its commitment to reducing its own carbon footprint at https://www.3ds.com/sustainability/compass. The company endorses the Science-based Targets initiative and Net Zero Emissions Timeline to help meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and support the global response… Continue Reading
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IPCC 6th Assessment Report - The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) prepares comprehensive Assessment Reports about the state of scientific, technical and socio-economic knowledge on climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for reducing the rate at which climate change is taking place. In the IPCC 6th Assessment on Climate Change, "the… Continue Reading
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Climate Change News Digest June 2021 - Climate Change Digest good news question of the month: What European country announced a technology breakthrough in producing reduced-carbon iron? Read on to find the answer in this month’s Climate Change News Digest prepared for followers of the PLM Green Global Alliance. NOAA reported that in May the Mauna Loa… Continue Reading
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