Chapter 3: Aligning Sustainability and Business Value

[Jaime_Lee]

Please copy the question below that most resonates with you with your answer in your reply. (It counts towards your Sustainability Badge!)

-What are some examples of products that disrupt their predecessors while providing financial value?

-How can decarbonization and circularity be profitable for manufacturers?   

Circular Economy: Have you been involved in any initiatives or projects that focused on circularity? What were the key takeaways, and how did it affect your approach to product design or lifecycle management?

Register for Sustainability Chat with PTC VP Dave Duncan July 10!

[Dale_Rosema]

Talking about LEDs saving weight and energy is interesting until you have to have a truck/car head lamp assembly that needs to be replaced because the chip went bad and a $1700 module is needed instead of a $10.99 LED light bulb from the local auto parts store. This recently happen to my friends. Thankfully it was before they bought the truck and the dealer had to fix it and they didn't have to absorb the cost.

At home we try use the 3 R's (Reduce [probably most hard in a consumer based society], Reuse, Recycle). We also compost as much as we can. Eventually you get to the point: "Is the juice worth the squeeze?"

[dduncan]

I agree - Field Replaceable Units too high up the BOM hierarchy is frustratingly expensive and wasteful!  Fortunately, right-to-repair pressures are improving this, but at different paces in markets.  Looking at the Fairphone 6 when my current phone needs replacement.

[kdirth]

We also try to follow the 3 R's at home.  We typically have much more recycling than garbage each week. The question is what happens to the recycled materials.  Some materials do not have much of a market and end up in the landfill anyway.  On the plus side, our city is a leader in organic recycling, having installed a digester that turns organic waste from grocery, restaurants, and citizens into methane and fertilizer.

We also have a compost bin in the back yard creating fertilizer for the garden.

[kdirth]

---

-How can decarbonization and circularity be profitable for manufacturers?   

---

As mentioned in the book, emitting carbon costs money.  Finding less energy intense processes often saves money.  That could be using recycled materials that require less energy to processes, upgrading processing equipment for efficiency, or choosing suppliers locally to reduce transportation.

Circularity improvements are often more difficult.  Recyling is at the bottom of the pyramid and not a direct savings.  By providing content that can be easily recycled a manufacturer can benefit from selling to environmentally conscious consumers/buyers who want to be able to recycle the product after it's usable life.  They will also indirectly benefit from reduced costs due to the increased recycled material availability.  Moving up the pyramid, remanufacture is possible on products with a more durable "frame", refurbish is possible when most of the product is durable, and reuse/redistribute is available when the product is still usable after the original owner is done with it and someone else can use it for the same or similar purpose.

On the job, we add material identification to many of our parts for recycling purposes.  We also ensure that wear items are easily replaced by the end user and supply the replacement parts.