We are happy to close the year with the first round of the PLM Global Green Alliances (PGGA) series: PLM and Sustainability.

We interviewed PLM-related software vendors in this series, discussing their sustainability mission and offering.

We talked with SAP, Autodesk, Dassault Systèmes, Sustaira and Aras and now with PTC. It was an exciting discussion, looking back at their Lifecycle Analysis (LCA) history and ending with a cliffhanger about what’s coming next year.

PTC

The discussion was with Dave Duncan,  VP Sustainability at PTC, focusing on industrial Sustainability as well as PTC’s internal footprint reduction programs, joined by James Norman, who globally leads PTC’s Community of Practice for PLM and Design-for-Sustainability.

Interesting to notice from this discussion, listen to the introduction of Dave and James and their history with Sustainability long before it became a buzzword and then notice how long it takes till digital thread and digital twin are mentioned – enjoy the 38 minutes of interaction below


Slides shown during the interview combined with additional company information can be found HERE.

 

What we have learned

  • It was interesting to learn that just before the financial crisis in 2008, PTC invested (together with James Norman) in lifecycle analysis. But, unfortunately, a focus on restoring the economy silenced this activity until (as Dave Duncan says) a little more than six months ago, when Sustainability is almost in the top 3 of every company’s agenda.
  • Regulation and financial reporting are the current drivers for companies to act related to Sustainability.
  • The digital thread combined with the notion of relying on data quality are transformational aspects.
  • Another transformational aspect is connecting sustainability as an integrated part of product development instead of a separate marketing discipline.
  • Early next year, we will learn more about the realization of the PTC Digital Twin.

Want to learn more

Here are some links to the topics discussed in our meeting:

 

Conclusions

It was great to conclude with PTC this year. I hope readers following this series:  “The PLM Global Green Alliance meets  …” has given a good first impression of where PLM-related vendors are heading regarding their support for a sustainable future.

We touched base with them, the leaders, and the experts in their organizations. We discussed the need for data-driven infrastructures, the relation with the circular economy and compliance.

Next year we plan to follow up with them, now looking more into the customer experiences, tools, and methodology used.