This month we are pleased to feature a guest blog submitted by PLM Green Global Alliance follower Roger L. Franz. who shares a few things he has learned as a Principal in Engineering Information Technology when beginning to explore the state of PLM tools to Design for Sustainability.
Design for Sustainability is now a mainstream requirement from governments, regulators, and customers. In this brief we summarize some current trends in the area of PLM tools to support rapid engineering assessment of environmental footprint among the many engineering choices. Engineering and science-based tools to quickly guide hardware engineers toward material selection and product configuration choices with reduced environmental footprint are critical to our future.
The PLM Green Global Alliance recently hosted its second panel discussion exploring sustainability topics with PLM-enabling technology and solution software providers. These forums expand upon our recent article on the Intersection of PLM and Sustainabilityby examining the progress in sustainability being made by solution providers, their partners, and customers.
This time, PLM Green co-founders Jos Voskuil and Klaus Brettschneiderspoke with representatives from Autodesk, a well known leader of software solutions for the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Manufacturing industries. Their interview was with Zoé Bezpalko, Autodesk’s Sustainability Strategy Manager for Design & Manufacturing Industries, and Jon den Hartog, Product Manager for Autodesk’s PDM and PLM solutions.
The whitepaper points out how important it is to consider the carbon footprint already “baked in” during the development and design phase of products to facilitate a successful carbon reduction and a circular economy once it is actually produced. In several examples it describes how system thinking, connecting the dots, and looking at products and processes holistically will help reach new levels of sustainability. It addresses Product Lifecycle Management approaches like the usage of BIM or the realization of digital twins to support transparency across the supply chain. Other examples are focused on the usage of new technologies like robotics and 3D to achieve sustainability goals.
The survey results document that the importance of sustainability goals has increased at the C-level and that they are becoming more relevant company strategies Several reasons for this development are discussed as well as the regional nuances in different geo markets. The survey emphasizes the shift of focus from Scope 1 and 2 emission reporting to the reduction on Scope 3 emission that includes the supply chain challenge. The lack of trustworthy data, IT systems to collect and manage them, and the tracing transparency like Product Passports or track-and-trace solutions are only few of the analyzed issues.
Read more by downloading the paper from Autodesk HERE.
