Sustainable manufacturing: Integrating environmental, economic and social aspects

Since its emergence in the 1980s, the idea of sustainable development has gone a long way to become a widely accepted societal goal in many countries. However, the implementation of the idea has been much slower, particularly in the manufacturing sector. One of the difficulties is the sheer complexity of production systems that would need to be re-engineered in a more sustainable way as well as the number of sustainability constraints that have to be considered and satisfied simultaneously.

This talk will argue that bringing about sustainable manufacturing requires a systems approach underpinned by life cycle thinking as well as an integration of economic, environmental and social aspects. Using illustrative examples, the main sustainability challenges and opportunities for manufacturing will be discussed, examining the interplay between technology, economy, environment and society. With respect to the latter, it will also be argued that manufacturing cannot be considered in isolation of society...