The automobil industry is one of the largest and most important industries in the world. As a part of a global Environmetally Benign Manufacturing (EBM) benchmarking study, sites were visited in Japan, Europe, and the US. The following general observations about the emphases each country places on the enviroment are described as follows: In Japan the focus is on reduction of solid waste and energy usage/CO2 emissions; in Europe attention is directed at reducing solid waste and achieving ISO 14000 certification and in the US emphasis is directed at compliance with government regulations and promoting worker safety. In terms of public recognition of environmental issues, Europe appears to be the leader closely followed by Japan, with the US being a distant third. European governments are rapidly establishing a number of environment-related regulations, and Japanese industry closely tracks activities in Europe. Company-to-company differences in terms of the environment are far less than those from country-to-country. Environmental issues surround each stage of the vehicle life cycle (metarials, manufacturing, use, and post-use) and there are a number of system oriented issues as well. Research on the following topics is needed to adress challenges associated with each life stage: Materials: development of techonolgies to support the use of light weight materials. Manufacturing: reduced waste and improved enrgy efficieny of processes including casting, sheet metal working, glass manufacturing, painting/coating/plating, machining, joining, plastics processing, and part washing. Use: advancement in alternative fuel/engine/power plant technology to achieve higher fuel economies and lower emissions. Post-use: improved recovery rates of ASR and increased attention to disassembly/dismantling, assessment of the economics/stability of the vehicle end-of-life system. System: role of suppliers and the managenet of information in the supply chain, and product stewardship. It would also seem prudent to re-examine company/government interactions and the role of regulations in promoting environmental improvements. Do the existing relationships and regulations simply require compliance or do they promote neverending improvement? Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the US public lags far behind other nations in environmetal awareness - strategies should be undertaken to close this gap.


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    Title :

    A global perspective on the environmental challenges facing the automotive industry: state-of-the-art and directions for the future


    Additional title:

    Globale Ausblicke von ökologischen Herausforderungen an die Automobilindustrie: Stand der Technik und zukünftige Richtungen


    Contributors:
    Sutherland, J. (author) / Gunter, K. (author) / Allen, D. (author) / Bauer, D. (author) / Bras, B. (author) / Gutowski, T. (author) / Murphy, C. (author) / Piwonka, T. (author) / Sheng, P. (author) / Thurston, D. (author)

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    2004


    Size :

    25 Seiten, 6 Bilder, 2 Tabellen, 35 Quellen




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English






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