Minnesota Sustainability, Life Cycle Assessment, and ISO 14001 Consulting

Our Sustainability Consultants have decades of experience in

• Design;
• Manufacturing;
• Data Analysis;
• and Continuous Improvement.

Led by a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering who also holds a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, we provide unparalleled expertise in

• ISO 14001;
• Life Cycle Thinking;
• Life Cycle Management;
• Life Cycle Assessment and Review; and
• Life Cycle Costing.

We're dedicated to protecting and improving the environment by developing Minnesota Green Businesses by implementing Life Cycle Management. However, as experienced business leaders, we're equally dedicated to your business, its profitability, and growth.

As you'll discover by reading this page, the two goals are not mutually exclusive. In fact, in today's business climate, you'll find out why business prosperity and growth depend upon implementing Sustainable Practices.

We take a comprehensive approach to Sustainability. We

• Compare multiple designs to understand their respective impacts to the environment, as well as their cost.
• Understand how the environment is impacted by your company’s products and processes, along with cost, to identify opportunities for environmental and economic improvement.
• Implement operational controls into your design and development process to address the three pillars of sustainability – economic cost, environmental impact and social impact.
• Quantify the environmental impact of the continuous improvement changes you’ve made in support of your ISO 14001 initiatives.
• Broaden your view of environmental impact from only the manufacturing or delivery phase to include use and end of life in support of your ISO 14001 initiatives.
• Identify opportunities to recycle or re-use in support of environmental circularity.
• Identify opportunities to design with materials that are more recycling-friendly.
• Account for a complete sustainability picture of your product or your company including economic, environmental and social factors.
• Drive improvement in your environmental footprint via what you can control as well as what you can influence.
• Define the life cycle of products and services to strengthen your Environmental Management System (EMS).
• Analyze manufacturing data to identify opportunities for improvement in
  
  • yield improvement;
  • scrap reduction;
  • cycle time;
  • cost reduction;
  • efficiency; and
  • lastly, supply chain optimization.

ISO 14001 is the international Standard for Environmental Management. Achieving ISO 14001 Certification is an important milestone in an organization's history. Maintaining ISO 14001 Certification is an equally important goal.

ISO 14001 Certification is becoming more important for companies.

• Customers are looking for suppliers who not only provide products or services at a competitive price but who also demonstrate their environmental stewardship.
• Financial institutions and shareholders place higher importance on companies achieving ISO 14001 Certification because they want their investment in those companies to be secure in terms of sustainability.

Sustainability, by definition, means that we achieved a balance between the environment, society, and the economy such that the needs of the current generation can be met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Sustainability is not a future concern for Minnesota businesses, it's here now. Addressing Sustainability is an imperative and embraced by industry leaders like Nike; Adidas; Unilever; Nestlé; Walmart; Ikea; H&M; Pepsi; and Coca-Cola. Clearly, Minnesota companies big and small intending to maintain market share let alone grow need to address Sustainability. Sustainability and Life Cycle Management make perfect business sense. Here's why.

• Consumer conscience drives people to purchase goods and services from proven Sustainable Businesses.
• Investors and other stakeholders, both because of personal beliefs and interest in growth-oriented companies proactively responding to Sustainability conscious consumers, tend to invest in companies with serious Sustainable Programs.
• Reduces the risk that customers for your products or services, implementing their Sustainability Programs, may find alternative sourcing because your business is not Sustainable or on a clear path to Sustainability.

• Enjoy the strategic competitive advantage of advancing Sustainability before your competition thereby differentiating your product(s) from competitor's and increasing market share.
• Protect and build brand image.
• Sustainability conscious employees are more dedicated, enhance the company's reputation through social media, and exhibit less turnover working for Green Companies.
• Most Sustainability and Sustainable Products Development initiatives result in short and long-term cost savings.
  • Aren't we always interested in reducing waste and improving efficiency?
  • We have to comply with government regulations. Certainly, compliance takes precedence over Sustainability. However, why not take a Sustainable Life Cycle Management approach which goes over and above basic compliance and better prepares us for certain stricter regulations while improving our corporate image?

Every Minnesota business is unique. There's no "One Size Fits All" approach to implementing Sustainability. The optimal Sustainability Plan depends on hundreds of factors.

When implementing Sustainability, it's crucial not to impact your existing products or services negatively. Sometimes you can implement Sustainability with no ill effects on your existing products or services. In other situations, it may be necessary to add additional Sustainable Products appealing to customers searching for Green Companies.

Perform Cost/Benefit studies to determine which approach is best for your unique business situation. Aftan Sustainable Engineering assures you consider all important factors.

Beware of computer program providers that suggest you don't need Sustainability expertise. Sustainability programs are excellent, and we use those software packages. However, understanding the variables to enter is difficult. If you enter wrong data, the program will produce incorrect results. Furthermore, you're dealing with algorithms that aren't perfect. The bottom line is that if you don't know what you're doing, you can deceive yourself.

We

• are very familiar with available software;
• do know what to enter and the ramifications; and
• lastly, know how to properly interpret the results.

Minimize your risk and maximize returns. Call our expert Sustainability Consultants today at 610-914-1356.

All successful Minnesota businesses recognize that Continuous Process Improvement is crucial to long-term profitability and survival. Although it is not required and not always applicable, incorporating Life Cycle Thinking into your Continuous Process Improvement Program is logical. Sooner or later businesses both big and small will have to address Sustainability.

Life Cycle Thinking requires examining many of the same considerations as Continuous Process Improvement. Why not address Sustainability issues while focusing on a particular area of your business instead of having to reopen investigating a process later on? Furthermore, incorporating Life Cycle Thinking into Continuous Process Improvement Projects can reveal opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked.