Shifting product design to net-zero sustainability
existing processes, and revamp operations to make sustainability a core design concept. Key best practices areas include: ■ Adopting circular economy practices that reduce materials use and recapture waste products to be used in manufacturing new materials and products. ■ Optimizing processes to decarbonize product development, including minimizing materials consumption and resource usage during the manufacture of products. ■ Innovating in new design concepts and investing in new tools and technologies to achieve more energy-efficient products and processes. ■ Fostering a net-zero mindset by focusing on change management issues, including elevating sustainability champions in the organization, addressing worker fears and resistance, and reskilling and bringing in new skills necessary to achieve net-zero goals. ■ Extending the usefulness of mechanical systems with digitized services that deliver new features and functions as needed.
Manufacturers will be expected to produce goods for electric vehicles and infrastructure, modernized power grids, building controllers, and heat pumps, among others. In addition, investment in carbon capture technology will drive the need for new product designs and solutions to retrofit existing manufacturing plants. The shift to net zero will require a massive reallocation of capital, likely adding up to hundreds of trillions in U.S. dollars and equivalents by 2050. This will require a massive transformation in how those in the manufacturing sector do business, from how they power their plants and tools to adoption of lighter and stronger materials. Entire manufacturing supply chains will be impacted. Manufacturers measuring their progress to net zero will have to calculate their overall carbon footprint, including the net zero progress of their suppaliers. Companies that want to profit from non-zero business opportunities will need to demonstrate they are moving to achieve net-zero goals. Companies will have to calculate the carbon impact of the entire product life cycle, from materials sourcing to end-of-life management. Designers must learn new skills, adapt or replace
Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) is a $12 billion (FY2023) global semiconductor leader that combines analog, digital, and software technologies to bridge physical and digital worlds. Its products help drive advancements in digitized factories, building automation, mobility, and digital healthcare. It is committed to achieving net zero by 2050 or sooner, cutting Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 50% by 2030, and diverting 100% of waste from ADI manufacturing facilities by 2030. ADI aims to reduce energy consumption, extend asset lifetime, and reduce raw material usage through power-efficient motion control, precision low- power asset health monitoring, and adaptive intelligent sensing, actuation, and controls. With an extensive portfolio, ADI provides product designers with a wide range of components aimed at improving energy efficiency in industrial automation and intelligent building applications: Variable speed drives: It's estimated that electric motors account for about 65% of industrial electricity use. [vii] Historically, most of those motors are fixed rotation devices, and equipping all with variable speed drives could reduce global energy usage by up to 10%. [viii] ADI's variable speed drive solutions incorporate high-performance current and
Leveraging supplier advances
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