TY - JOUR
T1 - Environmentally benign manufacturing
T2 - Observations from Japan, Europe and the United States
AU - Gutowski, Timothy
AU - Murphy, Cynthia
AU - Allen, David
AU - Bauer, Diana
AU - Bras, Bert
AU - Piwonka, Thomas
AU - Sheng, Paul
AU - Sutherland, John
AU - Thurston, Deborah
AU - Wolff, Egon
N1 - Funding Information:
In this paper, the findings of a recent report [1] based on a global benchmarking study of Environmentally Benign Manufacturing are summarized. This panel study was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy, and in part, was motivated by the desire to understand the competitiveness of the U.S. with respect to environmental issues. While the environment is not often associated with market competitiveness, in fact, as globalization increases, it is emerging as a significant factor. Other goals for the study were; 1) to advance the understanding of environmentally benign manufacturing, 2) to establish a baseline and to document best practices in environmentally benign manufacturing, 3) to promote international cooperation, and 4) to identify research opportunities.
Funding Information:
The process starts (after the study area and funding are identified) with panel selection and briefings, followed by site selection and travel logistics. For this study, ten panelists were selected from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Texas at Austin, University of California-Berkeley, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Alabama, Michigan Technological University, University of Illinois, and Caterpillar. 2 2 The study started with briefings on the technology roadmaps for the aluminum, steel, polymers, composites, castings, electronics and automotive industries. Inputs were also received from the U.S. NSF, U.S. DOE and U.S. EPA [8] .
PY - 2005/1
Y1 - 2005/1
N2 - A recent international panel study (Gutowski T, Murphy C, Allen D, Bauer D, Bras B, Piwonka T, Sheng P, Sutherland J, Thurston D, Wolff E. WTEC Panel Report on: Environmentally Benign Manufacturing (EBM), 2000 on the web at; http://itri.loyola.edu/ebm/ and http://www.wtec.org/ebm/) finds Environmentally Benign Manufacturing (EBM) emerging as a significant competitive dimension between companies. With differing views on future developments, companies, especially large international companies, are positioning themselves to take advantage of emerging environmental trends. Among Japanese companies visited, the panel observed an acute interest in using the environmental advantages of their products and processes to enhance their competitive position in the market. In the northern European countries visited, the panel saw what could be interpreted as primarily a protectionist posture; that is, the development of practices and policies to enhance the well-being of EU countries, that could act as barriers to outsiders. In the U.S., the panel found a high degree of environmental awareness among the large international companies, most recently in response to offshore initiatives, mixed with skepticism. In this article, we survey EBM practices at leading firms, rate the competitiveness of the three regions visited, and close with observations of change since the study. Based upon these results, major research questions are then posed. In sum, the study found evidence that U.S. firms may be at a disadvantage due in part to a lack of coherent national goals in such areas as waste management, global warming, energy efficiency and product take back.
AB - A recent international panel study (Gutowski T, Murphy C, Allen D, Bauer D, Bras B, Piwonka T, Sheng P, Sutherland J, Thurston D, Wolff E. WTEC Panel Report on: Environmentally Benign Manufacturing (EBM), 2000 on the web at; http://itri.loyola.edu/ebm/ and http://www.wtec.org/ebm/) finds Environmentally Benign Manufacturing (EBM) emerging as a significant competitive dimension between companies. With differing views on future developments, companies, especially large international companies, are positioning themselves to take advantage of emerging environmental trends. Among Japanese companies visited, the panel observed an acute interest in using the environmental advantages of their products and processes to enhance their competitive position in the market. In the northern European countries visited, the panel saw what could be interpreted as primarily a protectionist posture; that is, the development of practices and policies to enhance the well-being of EU countries, that could act as barriers to outsiders. In the U.S., the panel found a high degree of environmental awareness among the large international companies, most recently in response to offshore initiatives, mixed with skepticism. In this article, we survey EBM practices at leading firms, rate the competitiveness of the three regions visited, and close with observations of change since the study. Based upon these results, major research questions are then posed. In sum, the study found evidence that U.S. firms may be at a disadvantage due in part to a lack of coherent national goals in such areas as waste management, global warming, energy efficiency and product take back.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2003.10.004
DO - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2003.10.004
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:4243118645
SN - 0959-6526
VL - 13
SP - 1
EP - 17
JO - Journal of Cleaner Production
JF - Journal of Cleaner Production
IS - 1
ER -