Manufacturing and Engineering Magazine Volume 425 - January 2016 | Page 70

THE LAST WORD...

thinking ahead
renewed pressure on
sustainability targets
Concerns for the environment have never been more pressing,
and the government has placed renewed pressure on
meeting sustainability targets. The consumption of
fossil fuels, and the harmful by-products of their use,
is considered the most problematic contributor to
global warming and is thus the first targeted when
government and businesses look to reduce
environmental impact. Because the manufacturing and
engineering sector rests on high-energy production
and operation, related industries face increased
pressure to find alternative processes with which to
reduce their carbon footprint and lessen their
environmental impact.
Though complex manufacture comprises many
stages, each of which requiring and emitting high levels
of energy, it is often the use and disposal phases that
can have the greatest impact and which are most
difficult for a company to control and monitor.
When a product is released to the wider world
and made use of by society, manufacturers and
engineers are limited as to what contribution
they can make, and it becomes the task of
operatives to use equipment effectively and
manage waste efficiently. The emphasis of the
sector then needs to be on quality design which
takes into account a product's life cycle and the
effect it will go on to have post-production.
At the point of design and development, there are a range
of considerations that can be incorporated within a product's
specification. Improving service life has to be the primary aim,
whether that be reducing consumable parts so as a to minimise
necessary repairs, or including alternative energy storage or
generation technology. At the optimisation of product robustness,
one then has to factor in its the energy required for its use, and
management of resultant waste. Improving efficiency is the
minimum aim and, by far, the biggest gains in environmentalism are
to be had with the use of renewable resources alongside effective
waste management procedures.
Sustainability has climbed the agenda over the last decade,
and the efforts of manufacturing and engineering businesses
is to be applauded. The next stage of that process is inspire
responsibility in operatives by enhancing the efficiency of
products, and making equipment that can do more with
less, and is not as susceptible to wear and
damage.