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Materials as an Avenue to Sustainability
balance technical, economic, and environmental properties. Other
tools enable organizations to assess bills of materials (BoMs)
and run rapid what-if studies to evaluate the impact of different
materials, processes, and parts.
Using a materials data management platform like Ansys Granta
MI Enterprise to store, control, and analyze information gives
manufacturers key insights into areas like:
• Sustainable packaging. Through the use of alternative
materials, it may be possible to reduce a product's CO2
footprint by 10 percent.
• Lightweighting. Product designers can search for
materials that will deliver as much as a 45 percent
weight reduction without sacrificing performance.
• Durable design. By combining engineering and
environmental data, teams can design products with a
longer lifetime.
• Material circularity. With access to data on recycled
materials, companies can adapt designs for improved
sustainability.
• Harmful substances. By removing harmful substances
from products, organizations can reduce their
restricted substances risk and meet sustainability
reporting requirements faster.
By assessing product environmental impacts and using a data-
driven approach to supply chain decisions, companies can
proactively incorporate more environmentally friendly materials
into their offerings.
A best practice is to carry out "what-if" studies to evaluate the
impact of different materials. For example, if a design team
wants to use a specific grade of aluminum, Ansys Granta MI can
provide the CO2 output for that material as it goes through the
manufacturing process. The team can compare that with the
data for a different aluminum grade that may have a lower CO2
footprint or higher recyclability characteristics.
DEKO Case Study: Reducing a
Product's CO2 Footprint
DEKO is a global leader in the design,
manufacture, and supply of sustainable
system partitions. For over 45 years, DEKO
has developed products for the interior
fitting out of buildings.
The Challenge
DEKO needed to assess alternative
materials early in the design process
based on criteria related to price,
manufacturing processes, substances
of concern, and sustainability. Other top
priorities for the company included the
ability to source sustainable materials from
suppliers and having confidence that new
materials would assure compliance with
Environmental Product Declarations.
The Solution
DEKO implemented Ansys Granta MI which
enables the team to perform rapid, early-
stage assessments of product CO2 footprints
over the entire product life. The platform
also supports intelligent material selection
and comparison of technical, economic, and
environmental material properties.
Results
DEKO was able to select the most
sustainable material for its product,
resulting in a 20 percent reduction in the
carbon footprint, compliance with new
legislation, and a data-driven approach to
supply chain decisions.
"By making the right material trade-
offs and knowing what we needed from
our suppliers, we were able to reduce a
product's CO2 footprint by 20 percent."
—Simon Søndergaard Bjarno Jensen,
Sustainability Product Manager, DEKO
Figure 1: Key Sustainability Indicators
Supported by Ansys Granta M
