Business Functions and Sustainability
Each department within a company presents an opportunity for economic, social and environmental improvements. Many of the ideas to reduce environmental impacts directly coincide with cost savings and improved levels of efficiency. Advancements that occur in one department can often be felt throughout the entire organization and each department is equally important in the life cycle of a product.
• Manufacturing/Engineering
The most important step in making improvements to the manufacturing and engineering of a product is mapping out how the product or products are produced, from the idea conception to the end-product. Successfully mapping the product allows analysis of each aspect of the process enabling the proper identification of environmental impact reduction, waste reduction, time improvements and opportunities for cost savings.
The creation of the product should allow the product to be remanufactured, repaired for continued usage, reuse and 100% recyclable. This includes the cardboard, office paper and wood pallets, as well as materials that are specific to the manufacturing process. The manufacturing process should be tracked for each product within the plant to look for immediate energy, input and water reductions. Creation of the product should occur in a sustainable fashion, requiring less water, energy and resources. Resources should be non-toxic, renewable and acquired in a sustainable fashion.
o Replace toxic materials with nontoxic
Mapping out the processes toward production realization present the organization with an opportunity to replace materials that have been found toxic. Once any toxic materials have been identified, research can begin to find suitable, non-toxic alternat ...