Product Lifecycle Management in support of green manufacturing: addressing the challenges of global climate change

Across the globe, more companies are pursuing economically viable green manufacturing in order to efficiently reduce or eliminate pollutants and hazardous substances. Companies are seeing the economic impact of green manufacturing because it creates sustainable development, allows opportunity for re-investment, supports cost saving strategies, and has a positive impact on the bottom line. These benefits support many strategic initiatives and provide a competitive advantage. In order to implement green processes and products, companies exploit product lifecycle management (PLM) practices to achieve their strategic initiatives. PLM is a process that focuses on managing a product through its entire lifecycle, from the conception to the disposal or recycle of the product. PLM helps a business reduce the use of time, materials, and energy by using a shared information core. International laws and standards have a direct effect on the product lifecycle. Through the PLM information core, companies can integrate environmentally friendly practices into their business. The focus of this paper is to investigate why companies practice green manufacturing and how PLM supports environmentally friendly initiatives. The investigated companies are taken from the Global Round Table on Climate Change. In particular, this paper examines how PLM drives green manufacturing to improve environmental performance while meeting financial and long-term sustainability. Mechanisms to increase energy efficiency, de-carbonization, reduction of harmful emissions, and better land management practices such as reducing landfill waste will be studied. This paper also includes a review of interviews and examples from previous studies.