Product-Production-CoDesign Thinking for Sustainable Manufacturing

Manufacturing needs to contribute towards a sustainable future for the sake of preserving and enriching humanity on planet earth. This goal is enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SGD) set forth by the United Nations. SGD 9 aims at building a resilient, innovative and sustainable industrialization. SGD 12 ensures sustainable consumption and production patterns. Currently, manufacturing falls short of achieving these targets as product design and production engineering operate individually and sustainable practices are not focused. This industrial problem is reflected in the absence of holistic approaches that aim at sustainable production by providing applicable methods. To address this challenge, we propose Product-Production-CoDesign (PPCD) Thinking. With a clear focus on sustainability we delineate PPCD Thinking from Design Thinking and extend the notion towards manufacturing. It encompasses linear manufacturing (SGD 9) and circular production (SGD 12). Four case studies illustrate this software defined production enable PPCD Thinking and its customizability. In a nutshell, Product-Production-CoDesign Thinking, thus, can contribute to moving towards sustainable manufacturing and net zero.