IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
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IPC COMMUNITY 46 SPRING 2024 N o one can deny that the resources of our fragile planet are finite. The environment seems like a third party, subject to constant degradation. We're acutely aware of the effects of pollution on our climate, and despite our "throw-away" culture, recycling and recovery of materials has remained relatively expensive, even as we use more energy just to survive. As individuals, we feel helpless; anything we do carries little meaning. How can we all get on the same page? I've seen some local groups (from different industries with different goals) finding inroads to over- c o m e t h e s e c h a l - lenges. Some exam- ples include using renewable energy, recycling key mate- rials, economies in consumption, and advances in materials. How do we reduce the amount of raw materials and e n e r g y b e i n g The Need for a Holistic Global Sustainability Standard consumed and motivate companies to recycle? Not many companies want additional costs to their bottom line. Governments and some forward-thinking companies either offer incentives or impose penalties, a "carrot and stick" approach to mea- sure results and drive toward a more sustainable future. However, this can expose a company's sensitive intellectual property, including prod- uct design, manufacturing performance, and supply network information. Thus, their default response to these incentives and penalties is a solid "no." As an industry, we are very creative. In cases where information must be shared, we can con- sistently and accurately measure, calculate, and derive that information. In their own way, indi- vidual companies will devise their own meth- ods and results. There is, after all, little specific guidance as to how to measure, declare, and communicate the required information. The only specific mandate is that it must be autho- rized. We need standards. Volunteers on the 2-12D Digital Sustain- ability Credentials Standard Task Group are developing a new IPC standard, IPC-2553, Global Standard for Digi- tal Sustainability Credentials. They have already started addressing these challenges and have created a working draft for a standard that addresses the key requirements and challenges discussed. The first revision of this standard aims to address two significant areas: By Michael Ford, Aegis Software SUSTAINABILITY This article was written in December 2023 when Michael Ford was co-chair of the 2-12D Task Group. He passed away in January 2024.