Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing

Abstract

National governments, international conferences, some industry associations, and a number of individual companies are increasingly emphasizing the need for a company to take responsibility both for the environmental consequences of its production and for the ultimate disposal or the products it produces. As a result companies are increasingly challenged – by competitors, government regulation, public pressure, or good conscience – to improve and manage their processes and products from both an environmental and an economic standpoint. To be effective, these efforts, to the extent possible, need to address the energy uses and materials flows related to the entire cycle of production, consumption and ultimate disposition. Rules of thumb for environmentally‐conscious manufacturing include improving efficiency and productivity through efficient energy and materials use, substituting more abundant and environmentally preferable materials for those that are rare or environmentally problematic; as well ass recycling and reusing products at the ends of their lives. Expounds on some of the challenges in integrating environmental considerations in design.