Why Are Composites Behind the Green Curve?
Cheryl Richards of PPG Industries says The composites industry is behind the curve in developing the data needed to demonstrate product benefits.
The composites industry is behind the curve in developing the data needed to demonstrate product benefits to the emerging environmentally conscious market said Cheryl Richards, business development manager of PPG Industries, Inc. in her convention session titled It Takes Big Shoes to Make a Small Footprint.
She said there is a new and growing market of people who want green products but consumers must be convinced with evidence that environmental costs do not outweigh the benefits. Regulators and lawmakers must be convinced too and that will take data.
To present the case that composite products have a net positive impact on the environment, the entire life cycle of many products must be examined from resource extraction through manufacturing and use and even to demolition and recycling. “We have to break down each component and put numbers on those,” she said. The competition such as the wood, steel and concrete industries has already done this work and the composites industry needs to catch up to stay in the game. “Right now, we are poorly represented [in the green markets],” she said.
She called on business owners and operators to read the white paper developed by the Green Composites Committee to learn how they can get involved in the research program. Outside consultants will be hired to gather and examine the data to give scientific legitimacy to the study.
An industry wide effort will be needed to stay in the game and prove that composites can “meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future.”
COMPOSITES 2010: Discover the Future of Composites Today. February 9-11. Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas.www.acmashow.org
