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Sustainability is a fundamental aspect of manufacturing engineering; yet the term ‘sustainability’ only entered into common use relatively recently. The importance of sustainability was principally brought to light in the report from the United Nations’ Brundtland Commission in 1987, entitled ‘Our Common Future’. Within this report, the definition of sustainable development within this context is defined as:
‘…Development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’
(United Nations, 1987)
Within sustainability, there are two principle areas; business sustainability and environmental sustainability. With respect to business sustainability, the organisation needs to consider the product throughout the lifecycle with respect to its people, the customer and supply chains in order to achieve long term mutual benefit.
Environmental sustainability covers both the workplace and product environment. Engineers are required to design, manufacture and support solutions that limit the environmental impact. Organisations are legally bound to at least meet the regulatory, contractual and company requirements for sustainability, but in can be beneficial to excel requirements to further business.
But what are the key drives for sustainability and is sustainability is bought about by proactive or reactive response to legislation? Long term sustainability might be a legal requirement, but if companies surpass requirements with respect to sustainability does this offer them a competitive advantage? Can we put a cost on sustainability? Could we as engineers use sustainability to enhance added value to our product of the future?
One thing is for sure, we need to incorporate sustainability in to our products of today to ensure there will be engineering in the future.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions BAE Systems or the IET.
Categories: Latest TPN highlights ,
12 January 2012
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