Industrial Sustainability: Reviewing the Past and Envisioning the Future

Abstract

Society's consumption of natural resources and the impact of industrial activities on the environment have gained increasing attention over the last several decades. This paper provides a historical perspective on the origins of the environmental movement and its connection to industrial systems. Then, recent research related to product design, process improvement and change, green manufacturing planning, and the circular economy are described. With respect to product design, topics such as material selection and component light-weighting are considered. For process-related research, efforts such as operation changes and equipment design for reduced energy consumption are discussed. For manufacturing planning, new developments in process planning and production scheduling are highlighted that consider environmental performance. The concept of circular economy is examined critically, with particular emphasis placed on closing materials loops via recycling and remanufacturing. The paper concludes with a discussion of challenges and opportunities to achieve the goal of industrial sustainability.