Sustainable Manufacturing SIG Meeting – October 2012

Sustainable Manufacturing Strategic Interest Group

 

NCMS held its inaugural Sustainable Manufacturing Strategic Interest Group (SM SIG) on October 11, 2012.  24 executives from 20 companies and universities participated in the one day event at NCMS.   The highly interactive meeting centered on the following discussion topics:

  • Identifying sustainable manufacturing needs
  • Purpose and objectives of the SM SIG
  • Sustainability assessment best practices presentations from General Dynamics, CMS Energy, Steel Marketing Development Institute, Alcoa Aluminum, Kaiser Aluminum, Johnson Controls and Wayne State University
  • Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tools and standardization approaches
  • Establishing scope of the SM SIG and next steps

It was agreed areas of focus for the SM SIG should be:

  • LCA Tools — verification of existing LCA tools including data validity/integrity/specificity to manufacturing processes
  • Methodology for developing sustainability objectives and metrics including quantification of softer metrics (beyond carbon footprint and emissions) such as cost, safety, energy, and  social
  • Education and training both at the college and shop floor level
  • Outreach and awareness through the OEM, their supply chain, and the public
  • Benchmarking  successful Sustainability Initiatives from industry worldwide including VW and Wal-Mart
  • Developing a Sustainability Standards Guide (using the Guide developed by NCMS as a starting point)

Presentations from the first SM SIG meeting are available in the SIG group on the NCMS member’s site.

You must first go through the registration approval process to gain access to the member’s site if you have not already done so. Once you are in, you must request to join the Sustainable Manufacturing SIG group.

 

To participate on the Sustainable Manufacturing SIG, you need to be a member of NCMS. Information about becoming a member can be found here or contact Alissa Roath - Membership Services.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

NCMS Headquarters
3025 Boardwalk, Ann Arbor, MI 48108

The first working meeting of the Sustainable Manufacturing Strategic Interest Group (SM SIG) will be Thursday, October 11th from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm at the NCMS Headquarters in Ann Arbor.  This is a follow on to the very successful Sustainable Manufacturing and Design Roundtable held on June 12.

NCMS continues to take a leadership role in understanding green trends and developing/evaluating sustainability assessment tools and compliance approaches with its industry, government and academic partners.  The SM SIG is intended to provide a cross-industry forum for the evaluation, implementation and dissemination of open-source, data-driven sustainability tools, technologies and standards that facilitate developing products and processes that offer reduced environmental impact, are economically competitive and socially equitable.

An open forum discussion format will be employed to encourage interaction and networking.  As such, membership is expected to be limited to 30 members.

Registration/Continental Breakfast (8:30 am)

Morning Session (9:00-12:00 am)

  • Welcome/Introductions
  • Statement of Purpose/Objectives of SM SIG
  • Review Sustainability Needs (starting with Roundtable input)
  • Review Currently Available LCA Tools  — Advantages/Shortfalls
  • Discuss LCA Tools Standardization Approaches
  • Share Best Practices in Sustainability Assessments

Lunch

Afternoon Session (1-2:30 pm)

  • Establish Scope of SM SIG (including forming industry sector-specific working groups)
  • Closing (recap day’s events and set  time and  location for next quarterly meeting)

For more information please contact:

Bill Chenevert
Senior Program Manager
(734) 995-7989
billc@ncms.org

or

Manish Mehta, Ph.D.
Senior Program Manager
(734) 995-4938
manishm@ncms.org

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