"Sustainability is an important outcome of digital transformation" - Eryn Devola, Siemens Digital Industries

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www.tctmagazine.com/, Nov. 24, 2023 – 

TCT: What role do you think sustainability has to play in the context of digital transformation?

ED: Sustainability is an important outcome of digital transformation. Today, companies are looking for ways to bring more innovative products to market, faster than the competition, at a competitive price point. In addition, they have to pay attention to their environmental impact. The only way to do that is to be more deliberate in balancing all of these requirements. Becoming a digital enterprise is a key enabler for sustainability.

TCT: How is Siemens supporting that?

ED: Siemens is uniquely positioned to combine the digital and real worlds to help industries drive the outcomes mentioned above. Our Digital Threads enable companies to connect their whole value chain, from design to production, in use and end of life. Comprehensive Digital Twin technologies, including simulation results, production data, material information, supplier carbon footprint data, and product carbon footprint data help executives make smarter and better- informed decisions for sustainability. In addition, Siemens helps businesses drive a circular and continuous design and manufacturing optimisation process based on data from the real and digital world.

TCT: You recently hosted a panel featuring perspectives across automotive, agriculture and space. Given the variety of these industries, was there a key takeaway that could apply to most if not all industries?

ED: Some key takeaways that can be applied to all industries: First, speed is important. Companies need to be able to plan for different scenarios without expelling physical resources. Two, start small, and then scale with the right tools and skillset to capitalise on your investments based on your biggest sustainability needs. Three, and this makes me hopeful – while our challenges around sustainability and the environment are huge, industry has brilliant people tackling them from all different angles and in all different industries.

TCT: You recently shared in a report how nearly 80 percent of a product's lifetime environmental impact is determined during the design phase. What considerations do manufacturers need to be making and how early do they need to start making them?

ED: Manufacturers and in particular design engineers can no longer put all their focus on traditional drivers of product performance, quality, and cost. Today, many designs still fail to live up to their promise for sustainability because of the design strategy used. Putting sustainability first means designers need to start looking further upstream and downstream of their products.

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