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This page is directly accessible at
www.oecd.org/sti/innovation/sustainablemanufacturing
Project objectives
Expanding economic activities have in recent decades been accompanied by growing environmental concerns at a global scale such as climate change, depletion of natural resources, pollution and excessive waste generation. Although industry has shown increased interests in sustainable production and taken a number of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, progress falls far short to tackle these pressing challenges. Improvements in efficiency in some countries and regions have in many cases been offset by growth in other regions with lower regulatory standards. This reality hints at why even the current best policy scenario for global energy-related CO2 emissions still projects an increase of 25% by 2030 according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
What is now needed is the establishment of a new vision that, on top of current efforts, will enable the creation of wealth and business opportunities while reducing overall environmental impacts. In this context, the OECD Project on Sustainable Manufacturing and Eco-innovation aims to promote sustainable production by spreading existing knowledge and providing industry with a means to benchmark their products and production processes. It seeks to promote the concept of eco-innovation and to stimulate new technological and systemic solutions to global environmental challenges. The project initially focuses on environmental aspects of sustainability in manufacturing industries which constitute a fundamental building block of the OECD member economies. The outcomes of the project are expected to form an integral part of the forthcoming OECD Innovation Strategy.
Main components of the project in 2008
The initial stage of the project started in the second quarter of 2008 and will be concluded by the first quarter of 2009. During this stage, the OECD aims to deliver the following three outputs:
1. Framework and review paper on sustainable manufacturing and eco-innovation
This paper aims to provide an analytical framework that can be applied to understand sustainable production issues as well as a review of the state of current knowledge on indicators and initiatives relevant to sustainable manufacturing and eco-innovation. The paper will include the following five elements:
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Exploring definitions and discussions on concepts and laying out a generic analytical approach that can be applied in various industrial sectors.
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Collecting illustrative examples of good practices.
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Reviewing the existing indicators and initiatives and identifying gaps.
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Identifying relevant policy initiatives and exploring the future role of governments and the OECD in sustainable manufacturing and eco-innovation.
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Assessing the existing data set and exploring possibility of measuring eco-innovation.
2. Focus group meetings with industry experts
To obtain views and activities directly from industry regarding sustainable manufacturing and eco-innovation, the OECD is planning to organise focus group meetings with leading industry practitioners in the autumn of 2008. Outputs from these meetings will feed into the framework and review paper.
3. International Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing
The OECD organised an international conference on sustainable manufacturing in Rochester, NY, USA on 23-24 September 2008. This conference aimed to promote the concepts and practices of sustainable manufacturing among diverse businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Leading industry practitioners were among the speakers and panelists, along with high-level policy makers. The presentations and discussions will help the OECD to identify the needs for the future work as well as to shape the framework and review paper. The documents from this conference can be downloaded from here.
Advisory Expert Group
An Advisory Expert Group (AEG) on Sustainable Manufacturing and Eco-innovation was formed to assist and guide the initial stage of the project. The AEG, which already met twice in April and September 2008, consists of governmental officials, industry representatives and academics. AEG members provide support to the project through participating in expert meetings and in online discussions, so participation by government and industry representatives should be as broad as possible. Interested stakeholders are encouraged to contact us.
Next steps
Based on findings from the initial stage, the work on sustainable manufacturing and eco-innovation will continue independently of each other in 2009-10. These areas have been attracting a great deal of attention from OECD member economies. Alongside the development of the OECD Innovation Strategy, the OECD programmes in these areas are expected to grow in the coming years.
Contact
Tomoo Machiba, Senior Policy Analyst
Structural Policy Division
OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry
2, rue André-Pascal, 75775 Paris CEDEX 16 France
Tel : +33 (0)1 45 24 99 84
Fax : +33 (0)1 44 30 62 57
E-mail : tomoo.machiba@oecd.org
Related links
International Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing, Rochester, USA, September 2008
US Department of Commerce Sustainable Manufacturing Initiative and Public-Private Dialogue
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