3D printing and digital manufacturing services provider Protolabs has released its 2022 Sustainability Report, which looks at how companies are enabling more sustainable practices and technologies in their product development efforts. Around 200 engineers, product designers, sustainability leaders and corporate executives were surveyed. Most respondents stressed the significance of sustainability in directly influencing product development, with 80 percent noting that it played a defined role in their company as either part of the product development process or in everyday programs and activities. According to the report, almost 90 percent of respondents have been making notable corporate changes that have resulted in improved sustainability in product design and development over the past two years. Of those surveyed, 34 percent have made significant changes, while 54 percent have made only moderate changes.
To work toward sustainability, 68 percent have implemented artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, design for sustainability (DfS), and integration of electronics. Meanwhile, 63 percent focused on corporate social responsibility, while 62 percent focused on sustainable packaging. Sustainability practices under consideration for future implementation include corporate social responsibility (54%), closed-loop product development (47%), and additive manufacturing (40%).
Materials engineering is considered the biggest opportunity for product designers and engineers to achieve sustainability goals alongside sourcing and procurement. The top product design materials over the past two years include plastics for molding and machining (PC, PBT, PA, PEEK), metals for machining (aluminum, brass, carbon, stainless steel), and metals for 3D printing (carbon, stainless steel). However, the largest challenge to attaining sustainability goals will be balancing costs and quality due to the increased use of high-performance plastics, which is expected to continue in the coming years. While 65 percent of the materials used are comprised mainly of plastics for molding, the frequency of use is expected to rise to 72 percent in the next two years.
“We have to come up with innovative designs, but they also have to meet specific sustainability government regulations. And still meet certain costs for our business to operate accordingly,” shared a medical device design/industrial engineer in the survey.
Materials management is currently the top sustainability objective (41%) and is expected to remain the top challenge in the future. This is followed by operations productivity (37%), greenhouse emissions (32%), waste reduction (28%), and third-party suppliers/contractors’ sustainability compliance, among others. Overall, companies expect to be working toward the same objectives two years from now as they are today.
In the survey, almost 70 percent of respondents expressed that they have been actively involved with sustainability efforts for at least six years. However, the overall attitude toward sustainability still remains lukewarm. Most respondents admitted that sustainability initiatives at their companies are primarily driven by regulations and are trumped by fiscal concerns. Some product designers and engineers shared the same concerns, with most only moderately confident in their understanding of how sustainability aligns with overall company strategy. In addition, nearly one-third of respondents shared that their companies still do not have sustainability-related key performance indicators (KPIs).
Meanwhile, respondents in the medical device industry were alone in expressing the significance of sustainability in product design and development because it is the right thing to do. In contrast, respondents in the automotive development industry shared that the sustainability initiatives in their industry are mainly driven by meeting regulations and industry norms. However, according to the survey, the aerospace industry appears to be ahead of both the automotive and medical device industries in terms of achieving positive impacts. This was reportedly achieved by integrating sustainability into the company culture while simultaneously integrating it into products.
For more information, visit the Protolabs website.