An Engineer grapples with sustainable manufacturing

It was not that long ago when being ‘‘green’’ was considered mainly a political or a social belief, at least in the USA. It was not in the main stream consciousness of corporate leaders. And how things have changed in the last few years! It is difficult to read a popular magazine or watch commercial television today without being reminded how a particular company is offering an environment friendly product or how it is producing such an offering using responsible, sustainable processes. Serious business publications are full of advice to corporate managers on how to deal with sustainability (now the accepted business and technical term) in the boardroom all the way down to the shop floor. Engineering and technical literature that deal with sustainability issues have seen an explosive growth. Technical conferences held by major engineering societies have several sessions devoted to sustainability, or are even organized around the main theme of sustainability.