Sustainable Manufacturing

Sustainable manufacturing is important for creating a durable economy which is based on green growth and continued investment in jobs and wealth creation. Europe is confronted with several challenges, such as climate change, the drive to secure energy independence, an ageing society and the need to develop new technologies to remain competitive on the world stage.

Achieving sustainable growth means building an economy which is resource-efficient, sustainable and competitive. Europe is a world leader in developing new and green technologies and should exploit this potential. In addition, it should bolster the already strong competitive advantage afforded by its manufacturing base, in order to create a low-carbon economy which is dynamic and at the same time eco-friendly.

People-friendly Factories

In the light of demographic changes, such as shrinking birth rates and an increasingly ageing workforce, companies have to find new ways of providing working environments tailored to their workers’ needs. Factories need to be modernised to attract a much broader societal base, such as the elderly, women and the young. This leads to the need to create working spaces where people like to work, where they are more productive and where they feel cared for and respected.

A key element is to cultivate new forms of interaction between machines and people so that factories continue to be operated profitably while attracting an ever more highly-skilled workforce. In particular, human-robot collaboration will be enhanced through a number of features built into robots, such as voice recognition and natural language and gesture comprehension. This means new production environments will be human-centred, entailing new and innovative developments in ergonomics, the customisation of machinery and the optimisation of working conditions and methods.

Eco-friendly Factories

Research here aims to make the production process more eco-friendly while productivity and competitiveness are maintained. To achieve this, a number of new developments will be pursued, such as techniques to monitor the environmental impact of changes to different products, along with decision-making mechanisms which take the environment into account.

A key element is to develop new solutions to reduce greenhouse gases by using more renewable resources, thereby decreasing energy consumption. This will have the effect of making manufacturing processes more cost-effective, while boosting their environmental performance.