EVOLVE Business and Professional Magazine November 2017 | Page 34
Business
L I F E S T Y L E
C
R E S O U R C E S
by Kim Hover
ities and states across the country are implementing green FOUR KEY AREAS ARE ADDRESSED:
And increasingly, businesses are taking measures to move the materials we specify, and are they the safest available?
programs to support environmentally sustainable practices.
forward with innovation in energy, design and manufacturing that
harness green principles. Greening your business has proven value
beyond the bottom line, and more and more we are learning how
impactful our day-to-day choices are on the world. This resource
Material Chemistry and Safety of Inputs: What chemicals are in
Disassembly: Can we take products apart at the end of their useful
life to recycle their materials?
guide serves to highlight what’s happening nationally and locally Recyclability: Do the materials contain recycled content, and
and be inspired by! product’s useful life?
with innovation and green initiatives that we can support, promote,
more importantly, can the materials be recycled at the end of the
LCA (Life-cycle Assessment): Have we optimized the product
based on the entire life-cycle?
Being green is no longer a cost
of doing business; it is a catalyst
for innovation, new market
opportunity, and wealth creation.
- The Challenge of Going Green,
Harvard Business Review
DESIGN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
Herman Miller has been designing furniture with the environment
in mind for a long time. Their Design for the Environment (DfE)
team is responsible for developing environmentally sensitive
This summer VOLVO announced they plan to only build electric
and hybrid vehicles starting in 2019. Dictated by customer
demand, this is the first major automaker to abandon automobiles
and SUVs powered solely by fossil fuels and the internal
combustion engine.
Navigant predicts an increase in electric and hybrid vehicles to
around 3.7 million in 2018 and to more than 9 million by 2025.
Volvo, based in Sweden, will launch five fully
electric cars between 2019 and 2021.
design standards for new and existing DESIGN & MANUFACTURING
extends beyond regulatory compliance, Make Things is a groundbreaking book in the
products with a commitment that
and incorporates a comprehensive,
holistic approach.
| 34 | EVOLVE BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL MAGAZINE
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We
sustainability and design field co-authored by
architect William McDonough & chemist
Michael Braungart.