Making good decisions – Managing sustainability issues on heavy-duty powertrain systems during the early design stage
Vassiliki Theodoridou, Josef-Peter Schöggl, Katharina Berger, Rupert J. Baumgartner
University of Graz, Institute of Systems Sciences, Innovation and Sustainability Research
Duration: 2 hours
Trucks, buses and coaches are responsible for about a quarter of CO2 emissions from road transport in the EU and despite some improvements in fuel consumption efficiency in recent years, these emissions are still rising. In order to fulfil the need for a more sustainable transportation the EU adopted in 2019 the CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles, by setting targets for reducing the average emissions from new lorries for 2025 and 2030. Since eighty percent of the product-related environmental burdens are determined within the early stage of design, it is obvious that managing sustainability issues on this stage will be a key success factor.
Using proper tools and methods as well as the deeper understanding of all these issues from people involved in the product design can make this goal a reality. This workshop presents the most promising concepts to tackle this challenge. The advantages and possible weakness of the various methods will be briefly presented. Furthermore, by highlighting the main drivers for sustainability issues product designer and engineers will gain an overview of “what truly matters” to be considered when picking the best path forward. The interactive session included aims to explore and discuss in detail the special topics of
- data availability,
- sustainability awareness – awareness of the main drivers for sustainability issues
- tools and methods used and their bottlenecks