The technical paper “Product Lifecycle Management in Support of Green Manufacturing: Addressing the Challenges of Global Climate Change” is one of the earliest publications on the intersection of PLM and climate change. It was first published in the International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management.
The authors Ligia-Varinia Barreto, Hannah Anderson, Alyssa Anglin and Cynthia Tomovic from Purdue University write in the abstract that “The focus of this paper is to investigate why companies practice green manufacturing and how PLM supports environmentally friendly initiatives. The investigated companies are taken from the Global Round Table on Climate Change. In particular, this paper examines how PLM drives green manufacturing to improve environmental performance while meeting financial and long-term sustainability. Mechanisms to increase energy efficiency, de-carbonization, reduction of harmful emissions, and better land management practices such as reducing landfill waste will be studied. This paper also includes a review of interviews and examples from previous studies.”
The researchers examined the use of green manufacturing principles within six companies (Bayer, Dow Chemical, DuPont, FLP, General Electric, and Toyota) to reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances throughout a product’s lifecycle. The elements investigated included: recycling and disposal, energy consumption, water and air management, products and processes, and regulations and policies.
They concluded that “Environmental changes and the implementation of green manufacturing require a company to change its entire processes; from product planning and procurement policies to production and logistics [1]. The PLM model, as described by [12] includes five major categories (plan, design, build, support and dispose) centered by an information core as shown in figure 1. PLM is about product data, information and knowledge combined with people, processes, and technology. PLM can benefit a company practicing green manufacturing.”
Download and read the complete paper HERE.