#09: What’s the Environment Impact of Your Favorite Product?

Andrea Cagnin: Let me start by saying that there is a straight connection between waste and resources. The waste could be a resource. The relation between waste reduction and margin increase is straight. Waste shall be disposed of only when there is no other viable solution to transform it into a resource.

For industrial applications, life extension is an easy example of waste reduction. This will increase overall equipment efficiency. And an example of this could be considering an assembly line machine. So, by just upgrading some modules instead of replacing the whole assembly line, the OEM can reduce waste while improving competitiveness with a more performant and modernized line.

When the assembly line is replaced with a brand-new line, the old machine could still be sold to low-tier countries with low-performance requirements. For this use case of secondhand markets, disassembly procedures, transportation jigs and path traceability would be required to fulfill the reuse operations, considering quality and safety. As you can see, this is an extension of life that reduces product waste.

Lightweight engineering also plays an important role in industrial equipment customer circularity approaches. Designing lighter parts using 3D printing, for instance, will allow OEMs like robot manufacturers, line builders and building equipment OEMs to reduce the amount of raw materials used, but also to reduce part inertia for moving parts, with the consequence of reducing energy costs during the ownership.

The last example that I want to provide is, for me, the most important for industrial equipment: We cannot imagine the amount of spare parts that, every year, are scrapped due to obsolescence in the warehouses. So, for industrial equipment customers like building equipment, elevator and specialized manufacturing machinery, they need to maintain assets for 30 to 50 years. 

Having spare parts in the catalog and in the warehouse is key. You can imagine the amount of scraps that you can have behind. So, optimizing spare parts inventory in the warehouses –thanks to real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance, and using standard parts instead of custom parts to increase reusability – makes it possible to save tons of waste while reducing inventory and obsolescence costs.
 

Diana Goenaga: To be more sustainable, you have to know how to be more sustainable. And most of the companies that I've met, they do not know — and knowing is being able to act.

So, this is where data science can help you, because by connecting the data that you have on your business and your activity, you are going to start to have an overview of: What is your environmental footprint? And this is in a detailed manner, and this is how you can identify what are the best levers for you to be more sustainable.

An example of that is when you design a product, you are going to design it virtually. And right there, we can already say on a virtual product, during its conception: This is the environmental impact of this product, and it is detailed — it is not only each part of the product; you can identify if it is a frame, the engine or the embedded systems that are having the most impactful environmental footprint. But also, in time, is it the product manufacturing that will be costly? Is it the product usage that will generate a lot of emissions? So this is important — to have a 360-degree overview of how your activity has an environmental footprint and how your product can be changed. And you can identify what is the one best lever on which you can act to optimize your environmental footprint. This can be done for the development of a coffee machine, a plane, a car or a glass. So, for all these products, you can anticipate their impact in a very detailed way to make the best decisions.
 

John McCarthy: Life science companies have a lot of factors they have to balance all at once — the health of the patient, equitable healthcare for society, as well as the health of the planet. And while, certainly, much of the focus is on the health of the patient as well as equitable healthcare for society, there's a great deal of attention that the industry has on the environment that really largely goes unrecognized.

Biopharma companies, for example, look at: How can they make manufacturing of treatments greener? Can they use less water for cleaning by scaling out their process? Meaning, having that process run several times in parallel? Or by scaling up that process into a larger bioreactor? Or is it more sustainable to use large stainless steel tanks that need to be cleaned? Or is it more sustainable to have smaller batches that utilize single-use materials that don't have to be cleaned?

As we've seen during the pandemic, companies also asked: Can we produce these treatments and vaccines much closer to the patient, thereby avoiding the CO2 emissions it would take to ship that treatment around the world or to the patients themselves? We've also seen, during the pandemic, the emergence of telehealth and digital approaches, where patients can get treatment from home without taking a long, time-consuming and CO2-emitting trip to see their doctor or to visit the hospital.

Secondly, medical device companies are completely rethinking product design. They're very much looking at lifecycle assessment early in the design process: In particular, looking at how they can reduce plastic waste in packaging, as well as how they can increase the use of biocompatible, eco-friendly plastics in the devices themselves.

Finally, both medical device companies and hospitals are re-evaluating how they can reuse, refurbish and remanufacture equipment. This lowers the amount of medical waste that needs to be disposed of. And medical waste needs to be disposed of in very careful manners that are not necessarily very sustainable. So, if we can lower the amount of medical waste that we generate, we're lowering the amount of CO2 emissions from putting that not only into landfills but also burning it in certain cases. But it also ensures that we're able to deliver healthcare much more equitably to the overall society.
 

Kai Zhang: Sustainability is not just a buzzword but a strategic move for modern companies. Today, I would like to share my point of view on how digital transformation can drive sustainability innovation throughout the organization.

Digital transformation is the key to innovate for sustainability. It's a process of integrating digital technologies into various aspects of your business to enhance operation, reduce environmental impact and create value. Let me explain why this is essential.

First, it is about data-driven decision-making. Digital transformation empowers your organizations with real-time data and analytics. By harnessing this data, you can make informed decisions with sustainability initiatives, track progress and optimize resource usage.

The second point I want to talk about is efficiency and resource optimization. Digital tools streamline processes and resource management, whether it's R&D, productivity, supply chain optimization, energy management or waste reduction. Digital transformation allows you to do more with less, cutting costs while reducing the environmental footprint.

The last point I want to make here is about innovation and product environment. Digital technologies enable innovative product designs and services that align with sustainability goals. For instance, creating products with longer lifecycles or offering digital solutions to reduce physical resource consumption. 

I want to mention a couple of companies here as examples. The first one I want to talk about is Nippon Shokubai, a global leading specialty chemical company. The company aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30% by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Nippon Shokubai needed a more efficient, accurate way to acquire, analyze and integrate data from lab experiments, modeling and performance evaluation. By leveraging our modeling and simulation tools, Nippon Shokubai coupled computational methods with its lab analysis to discover more efficient catalysts and electrolytes. Nippon Shokubai's researchers have been able to expedite their product development and improve process efficiency significantly.

The second example I want to talk about is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The company has always been trying to improve productivity and accelerate its product development. By implementing BIOVIA ONE Lab solutions, the company tripled process development projects without new headcounts and gained 60% efficiency improvements in scientific and engineering analysis, which resulted in more than $50 million in annual operational savings globally.

As you can see, digital transformation isn't just a technical operation. It's a strategic move toward a more sustainable and resilient future. It empowers your organization to innovate, reduce costs and lower environmental impact. By prioritizing digital transformation, you can lead your company into a new era of sustainable business practices, ensuring long-term success and contributing to a better world.
 

Sriyani: Next up, we have Michel Monsellier, the Solution Experience Director of High-Tech Industry at Dassault Systèmes. Hi Michel, thank you for joining us. As you know, we're moving away from a linear economy, and more consumers are looking for products that can stand the test of time, especially consumer electronics. So as we work to meet environmental targets, what can companies do to make products last longer?

Michel Monsellier: Clearly, consumer behavior is changing. People like you and me are more careful about the products we buy. We want to reduce our own impact. Companies at the forefront of changing consumer behaviors anticipate this. Meanwhile, pressure from regulations and investors is pushing companies to propose durable products with more reliable components, built in a more modular way to be upgradable, repairable and ready for multiple lives.

You've probably heard about Fairphone. Fairphone is a well-known company because it's building phones with a modular design. But I'd like to mention another company called Crosscall. This is a French company that builds rugged smartphones and tablets with a five-year warranty, including their battery. It sells to professionals from fire departments, the police, the army, and also to outdoor activity lovers, like some of you. At Crosscall, the supply chain has very strict standards. The company sets intensive torture tests to ensure that the products will fulfill their mission. It ensures software upgrades, and it listens to customers with dedicated programs. It is confident enough to propose refurbished products with a 12-month warranty, as Back Market does.

By the way, Back Market says that a refurbished smartphone saves 91% of raw materials, 86% of water and emits 91% less CO2 than a new one. Isn't that a good reason to reconsider our next purchase?

Sriyani: Of course, yes. Those are indeed good reasons to reconsider our next purchase. So thank you for those insights, Michel.

Narrator: Disruptors Unleashed is produced by Dassault Systèmes. For more episodes, follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer, or your nearest streaming platforms. To learn more about Dassault Systèmes, visit us at 3ds.com.