Survey and Analysis of Relevant Standards for Sustainable Manufacturing Project

The objective is to define the standards landscape in the area of sustainable manufacturing, including standards for carbon footprint determination, disassembly, remanufacturing, recycling, energy resource management and hazardous and toxic materials management. The project will look for mechanisms for systematically evaluating, comparing, selecting and/or harmonizing product standards of overlapping scope so as to identify a set of complementary and interoperable standards.

The principal objective of the project is to define the standards landscape in the area of sustainable manufacturing, including such concerns as design for disassembly, carbon footprint determination, resource tolerancing, remanufacturing, recycling, energy resource management, and hazardous and toxic materials standards. The ad hoc and independent evolution of separate standards covering different aspects of the product lifecycle calls for an understanding of the current coverage and of any gaps. Mechanisms are needed for systematically evaluating, comparing, selecting and/or harmonizing product standards of overlapping scope so as to identify a set of complementary and interoperable standards for the support of the sustainable design, manufacturing, use and disposal of products.

To meet the project’s objective, the following activities will be undertaken:

• Survey industry needs, standards, and the performance metrics landscape for sustainable manufacturing. Standards to be studied include Life Cycle Assessment for product and processes (LCA, ISO 14040), Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE ).
• Perform case studies of existing sustainable manufacturing systems to generate information requirements for sustainability assessment and to characterize economic, ecological and societal interactions in a product’s life cycle.
• Propose new or harmonized standards and metrics for sustainable manufacturing.