Manufacturing companies are under pressure to act on climate and environmental protection: politicians and standard-setting bodies are tightening regulations and requirements at international, national, and industry-specific levels. The issue of sustainability is playing an ever more decisive role in consumers’ purchasing intentions and investors’ decisions.

The days when sustainability merely appeared in the strategy roadmap and was stated as a goal in the company report are over. In all branches of industry, it is now a matter of consequent implementation in the main areas along the entire product life cycle.

In their article, Fraunhofer IPK and CONTACT highlight the complexity of the topic, its risks, and opportunities. The authors describe the various tasks and the digital technologies that are already available to meet them and why the industry can also achieve economic benefits with ecologically oriented business models.

Product Data Journal Vol. 2, December 2022