Publications Details

The role of ECM in bringing about pollution prevention

Davis, R.L.; Costa, J.E.

In an R&D environment, Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing (ECM), which focuses on specific materials processing and manufacturing operations, can be used to bring about a broader objective: pollution prevention. Decreasing the impact a product or process has on the environment is quickly becoming the way to do business. In the past, the impact on the environment was considered separately from manufacturing processes. Now, companies are beginning to see the benefits of designing to minimize environmental impact. Incorporating upfront the process changes that reduce environmental impact offers improved process efficiency and long-term cost savings not only for manufacturing operations but also for R&D. Among the approaches used, all with the same objective of decreasing pollution and environmental impact from manufacturing or other business operations, are Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing (ECM), Design for Environment (DfE), and Pollution Prevention (P2).