In a recent article on the topic of greening the electronics supply chain – an astute observation was made by Kenneth Stanvick, senior vice president at DCA (Design Chain Associates). “The burden of compliance is on design,” says Stanvick.
As noted in an excerpt from the article:
“At the center of the green supply chain is the design engineer. Not many years ago, an engineer could spend time at the bench creating great products. The concerns were quality, market competition, and cost. A few new and profound responsibilities have fallen on the design engineer’s shoulders: green part selection as well as design for green manufacturing, for energy savings, for light packaging, for recycling, and for take-back. Plus, the target is always moving. A product that meets the long list of criteria this year will likely fall short five years from now.”
So, here’s the question – if the design engineer is being held accountable for sustainability – design for green manufacturing, for light packaging, recycling and more – what kind of support is being provided to this design engineer? Traditionally, engineers have been measured on their ability to create products that perform faster, can be made more cheaply, or that are – in some way – more innovative, and can therefore – command a greater market share, or attract new customers. Product performance – to a large extent – has been the primary focus of the design engineer – so, what has to change in order for the design engineer to change his or her focus to performance and sustainability?
One approach is to introduce metrics that reward design efforts that produce more energy efficient products, or that include new ways to dismantle and recycle. Another approach is to simply build selected green or sustainable attributes into the design specification: light-weight packaging, energy efficiency ratings, etc. But, as many sustainability experts have noted, if the responsibility for sustainability rests with the design engineer – then it is essential that key elements in the education and training of engineers must change.
The good news is that we are beginning to see some developments in this area – engineering programs at colleges and universities around the world are beginning to include more guidance regarding designing with environmental impact in mind. Moreover, design tools are beginning to evolve to assist in this effort as well. But, we are still very much in the early stages of both embracing sustainability as an objective, and providing engineers with the much needed support and education required to enable them to become more sustainability-focused.
Sustainable design – and all of the cultural change and infrastructure required to support it - is a journey, much like the quality movement that took place decades ago. We can’t expect it to happen overnight – but we can begin looking at the ways that we can support this effort – and especially, ways that we can support the engineers who will, ultimately, be the ones being held accountable for sustainable design.
It’s all part of next-generation product design, a topic that is explored in greater detail in our upcoming research study, “Sustainability and the Product Lifecycle: A Report on the Opportunities, Challenges and Best Practices for Sustainable Product Design and Manufacturing.”
So - do you have what it takes to design sustainable products? Or wish you did? Tell us more. By taking this short survey, you’ll be helping to shed light on this very important – and often highly debated – topic. Whether you’re a sustainability expert or just beginning your journey – your feedback is invaluable.
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