Sustainable manufacturing: trends and research challenges

Abstract

Sustainability is and will be a crucial issue for the present and future generations. The current assumption that\nnatural resources are infinite and that the regenerative capacity of the environment is able to compensate for all\nhuman action is no longer acceptable. Hence, sustainability issues will influence all organisational aspects of the\nhuman life, from the economical, political, social and environmental points of view. The reason is simple: until\nnow, all human activities have been based on the paradigm of unlimited resources and unlimited world’s capacity\nfor regeneration; from now on, the awareness of the termination of this assumption means that all related\nbehavioural models must be changed. This is a very impressive objective embracing all fields of culture, economy,\ntechnology and much more. A continuing effort, together with a reasonable time span, will be required to pursue\nthis goal. Fortunately, nature and the environment are capable of self-regulation and will give man a chance to\nrecover from the damage he is causing to the earth mother, provided that the will to do so is firmly established.\nManufacturing, as the main pillar of the civilised lifestyle, will be strongly affected by the sustainability issues and\nit will play an important role in establishing a sustainable way ahead. Today, nearly all manufacturing models are\nbased on the old paradigm. Technology, on which the manufacturing is largely based, is asked, together with\nculture and economy, to give the tools and options for building new solutions towards a sustainable\nmanufacturing concept. Generally speaking, new technology, new business models and new lifestyle models will\nbe the cornerstones of the new sustainable world and this will be particularly true for what concerns the\nmanufacturing sector. Impressive constraints and requirements will affect the industrial sector on the way ahead\ntowards sustainability. Research and development will play a crucial role to this concern, having the\nresponsibility to offer appropriate options to the society for answering the above-mentioned needs. The main\nevidences on researches challenges expected for sustainable manufacturing are outlined by the authors that have\nbeen involved in the IMS international project ‘IMS2020: Supporting Global Research for IMS2020 Vision’,\npromoted by the European Commission to prepare a roadmap for future (2020) manufacturing research.

Keywords

Affiliated Institutions

• Politecnico di Milano IT

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