As an industry oriented research centre we seek to improve real life performance. Below are case studies of the Centre's research output being tested and used in industry. These case studies are a selection drawn from the many projects we do. They show how research can be used in real life, and how using our research in practice, informs the research and increases our quality of understanding.

This is only a partial view of our work, if you have a challenge that you think we should be tackling then do tell us - we may already be researching it, or it might inform our future plans. 

Assessing and reducing economic and environmental impacts of changeover operations

Doctoral research into improving changeover performance at flooring manufacturer Altro.

Competencies to deliver world class performance

The industrial Sustainability Competency Development Toolkit, developed at CIS, was used to help Brandix India Apparel City understand the skills and competencies required to deliver world class sustainability performance improvements. 

Making sense of eco-efficiency with the Capability Assessment Grid (CAGE)

Cage, a practice maturity assessment tool, was used to help flooring manufacturer Altro break down the concept of eco-efficiency into workable packages of improvement areas. 

Sustainable value analysis: from 'selling gas generators' to 'selling gases'

The Sustainable Value Analysis Tool (SVAT) is used with manufacturing managers and designers  in order to identify the opportunities of creating sustainable value.

Cutting energy use and costs at a Cambridgeshire SME

An SME sought advice from the IfM ECS PrISMS program to explore the potential to cut their energy bill by: reducing energy use for the etching tanks; reducing lighting bills; moving away from using compressed air; and implementing a formalised energy management policy.

Generating Sustainable Business Models

Sustainable business modelling tools developed in the Sustain Value project were used with a manufacturer to assist their business modelling approach.

New methodology for sustainable industrial development in ASEAN countries

Building on an existing UNIDO approach, methodologies were developed to independently conduct analysis of the economic, environmental and social aspects of an industrial subsector.