106 Sustainable Materials Management According to the United States Environment Protection Agency (UNEP), “Sustainable materials management (SMM) is a systematic approach to using and reusing materials more productively over their entire life cycles. It represents a change in how our society thinks about the use of natural resources and environmental protection.” The SMM approach seeks to use materials in the most productive way with an emphasis on using less and reduce toxic chemicals and environmental impacts throughout the material life cycle.1 Sustainability Reporting As institutional investors increasingly consider ESG information in their portfolio strategies, nonfinancial information is assuming a more important role for businesses. Previously a voluntary ‘nice to have,’ sustainability reporting is now expected of established businesses and, in some contexts, is becoming a required business practice. The GRI notes that: “Transparency underlies Target 12.6 of the SDGs, to encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices and integrate sustainability information into their reporting. Through better reporting, organisations can understand, communicate, and better manage their contributions to the SDGs.”2 Zero Waste The Zero Waste Certification (ZWC) process focuses on upstream processes and policies by implementing zero-waste practices in the participant industries. In order to achieve zero waste, manufacturing companies and product designers need to focus on products that can be easily broken down for recycling, can be reused industrially in the production of another product, or can be naturally broken down by the surrounding environment (biodegradable). Other sustainable design strategies and approaches that were raised in our research include: • Dematerialisation • Design for Disassembly • Design for Environment • Disruptive Design • Galley energy management • Lean Manufacturing • Modularity • Natural Resource Management • Product Service Systems Models • Product Stewardship • Remanufacturing • Science-Based Targets • Sustainable Production and Consumption • Sustainable Resource Management • Sustainable Supply-Chain Management. 1 Source: United States Environment Protection Agency 2 Source: Global Reporting Initiative, Integrating SDGs into Sustainability Reporting INTERNAT IONAL WI SDOM
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