RE22-001: A simple ESG checklist for the complete supply chain and life cycle.

Bethany Hall · 2022-02-11T14:49:06.854Z

Engineers are often not equipped and empowered to think holistically about the impact of their designs over the full life cycle. In most cases, engineers only have control over one small part of the overall design process and consideration across the supply chain is difficult. This can be a concern in emerging technology areas, where the negative side effects of otherwise exciting, sustainable designs are not yet fully realised. For example, whilst electrification has many environmental benefits, the mining and extraction of resources, such as lithium, mica and cobalt, cause severe impacts to the planet and local populations. Often, first world countries benefit and feel good from adopting these “sustainable” technologies, but developing countries take on the “dark side”, and there is little transparency of this impact to the end users. We propose a simple-to-use tool which poses challenging questions to engineers to ensure they are considering the sustainability and ethical impacts of design decisions, to identify opportunities to engage and improve across the supply chain. The tool would be designed for global application across multiple businesses and sectors. It would require engineers to document that they have considered the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) impacts at all stages of the product's life cycle and supply chain, including raw material sourcing, manufacturing, delivery to the end user, use-phase and end-of-life. At each stage of the product design process, the tool would need to be revisited and recalibrated. The tool would deliver an ESG "score", which could roll up to a company's reporting to stakeholders to achieve transparency and ensure corporations can demonstrate that they have considered the entire value chain. The ESG “score” could also be tied to end product specifications for marketing and consumers to consider, similar to Fairtrade products. While the tool may not improve the impacts of the project being evaluated, it will provide reflection and opportunity to improve the industry as the technology is further developed. Team Members: Bethany Hall Erika Rosenstein Gavin Fraser Andre Reis

top of page

CrowdSolve

Challenge summary

bottom of page