Sustainable Manufacturing Group

The Sustainable Manufacturing Group's goal is to:

• "Develop technologies to transform materials without emission of greenhouse gases, use of non-renewable materials or generation of waste."

Forthcoming events

An international conference on industrial sustainability

Report - "Towards a sustainable industrial system
With recommendations for education, research, industry and policy"

This report, published in September 2009, calls for a collaborative effort by academics, teachers, industrialists and policy makers to create a sustainable, global industrial system. The report builds on discussions at the International Manufacturing Professors' Symposium in Cambridge UK in July 2008 and the subsequent UK Manufacturing Professors' Forum. Leading professors from the fields of design, production, operations management and service science gathered with thought leaders from industry and professional organisations to attempt to chart the route to a more integrated and mature understanding of sustainable industrial systems. The report presents cases where industry is already taking action towards more sustainable systems.

The "Sustainable Industrial Systems" web pages provide a summary of the report and a free download.

IfM Briefing - "Can environmental legislation spur innovative response?"

The introduction of new emission standards for cars in the US in the 1970s helped to drive the development of the catalytic converter. This case study reveals other factors that helped this environmental legislation to succeed.

Download "Can environmental legislation spur innovative response?" [636k PDF file]. Note: further briefings on a range of subjects may be downloaded from http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/working/briefings/

Report - "Well dressed?
The present and future sustainability of clothing and textiles in the United Kingdom"

This report presents the outcome of a five person-year study conducted at the Institute for Manufacturing on the future supply of clothing and textiles to the UK. The bulk of the work of the project was a scenario analysis of various future means to meet the UKs demand for clothing and textiles. The scenarios were developed with three case study products, and analysed according to the "triple bottom line", including environmental life cycle costs, calculation of national accounts and prediction of employment changes.

• Download 84 page report [3.3Mb PDF file]
• Order a hard copy - free + postage & packing. Fax or postback order form.
• Download 68 page technical annex presenting technical background details for the report "Well dressed? The present and future sustainability of clothing and textiles in the United Kingdom" [690k PDF file]