I am interested in views on overcoming the commercial aspects of a business and its shareholders versus an ethically sustainable solution and how we drive decisions towards 'Best ethical' solution rather than just best. As engineers we will want to offer the best solution but for the future this is the mindset we need to change and start discounting solutions that are not a best ethical fit earlier in the design process?
There is a clear appetite for change in most leading companies in respect of ethical supply chains and sustainable factories and this is great to see but how many are looking at ethical design from the CAD design up ? - I work in an engineering environment where we have a great history and successful ways of designing and delivering a new product to market and much of this is innovative - however we still use traditional materials - steel , cast iron, plastics etc which we know are some cause for concern.
We work hard on reducing our emissions and have a target of net neutral of 2030 - but a lot of this is driven through better energy / travel and company fleet vehicle choice.
Has anyone seen examples of this type of ethical change in design processes and how was this environment created ?. And beyond this how do we convince customers to come along for the journey as well - Its hard to get quality and process engineers to be the first to make a change in their factories just 'in-case' it fails.
Anyway just a question and food for thought maybe ?
In my experience, good design is all about good problem definition and engineers are badly trained in defining good problems. So I think there are two points in your question:
1 - how do we incentivise companies to define the problems they want to solve better? There are a few levers here. The first is money, investors, insurers and shareholders can demand companies perform better under certain Environmental, Social and Governance metrics. Similarly, customers or regulators can demand better performance. Third, employees can advocate better performance and there is an increasing trend that younger employees are leaving unethical companies. In a labour market with limited knowledge workers, this appears to be a good incentive too.
2 - how do we define better problems and solutions? Well that seems to be a case of create multi-faceted teams. Bringing in environmental or social scientists earlier to ensure that problem definition encompasses all relevant impacts. Consulting effectively with stakeholders (not just statutory ones). Including novel problem solvers like data scientists or parametric designers for new technical solutions or service designers for better holistic solutions. Frankly, sustainable solutions are now commercially prudent. In my sector (energy planning) renewable energy is clearly recognised as a profitable investment. Low energy often equals high efficiency. Low carbon often equals low resource use. The challenge is often that the business case needs to be re-evaluated but with good incentives (see question 1) the risk of this can be mitigated.
There are 2 routes in my experience:
First is legislation, if government has a policy to support ethical design they can put into law the necessary practices. An example is reduced CO2 emission by changes to building regulations, motor vehicle fuel tax, etc.
The second is a desire by the organisation to be seen to be ethical by the public, shareholders and customers as it is perceived to be a commercial advantage. This can be more nuanced than just direct sales, a business with an ethical reputation is more likely to be listened to by government and asked for public comment by the media. There are investment companies that promote ethical investment and avoid certain categories of product. This has to come from the top of the organisation, senior staff have to drive and support the principles, company processes and proceedures can lead this approach.
As an individual it is difficult to influence the demand from your client to align with an ethical goal if it is not on their own agenda. Developing expertise in ethical aspects of engineering, for example how to comply with codes of good practice, could lead to clients who want that expertise coming to your company. If you are expert in understanding the benefits of ethical design you can explain this clearly to your client, and possibly change their brief to align with ethical goals.
It can be difficult in practice if a client is not committed to the required outcome, eg. complying with legislation or policies which are perceived as restrictions on their core business or unnecessary costs. You may find they require you to look for ways to avoid complying or conduct a "box ticking" exercise to meet their obligations with minimum effect.