Sphera Case Studies Defining Product Sustainability Hotspots to Enhance Business Opportunities

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	Defining Product Sustainability Hotspots to Enhance Business Opportunities Sphera

Defining Product Sustainability Hotspots to Enhance Business Opportunities

Sphera

Technology Category	Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics Analytics & Modeling - Process Analytics
Applicable Industries	Electronics
Applicable Functions	Product Research & Development Quality Assurance
Use Cases	Manufacturing System Automation Predictive Maintenance
Services	Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services Data Science Services
Challenge	Whirlpool Corporation, a global manufacturer of home appliances, faced several challenges. They needed to quantify the environmental impacts of their products throughout their entire life cycle to improve their environmental performance. They also wanted to integrate environmental KPIs among the main drivers of product development. Furthermore, they aimed to identify potential areas of improvement and hotspots that needed to be addressed in a conscious PCR development for refrigerators. Read More
About Customer	Whirlpool Corporation is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of home appliances, with approximately $22 billion in annual sales, 69,000 employees, and 54 manufacturing and technology research centers as of 2021. The Fortune 500 company markets Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, Jenn-Air, Indesit, Hotpoint, and other major brand names in nearly every country throughout the world. In Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), it has approximately 24,000 employees, a sales presence in more than 30 countries, and manufacturing sites in eight countries. Whirlpool EMEA is an operating segment of Whirlpool Corporation. Whirlpool Corporation’s European Operations Center is located in Pero, Italy. Read More
Solution	Whirlpool EMEA worked with Sphera to create an automated eco-design tool that enables the company to perform environmental impact analyses of its products throughout their life cycle, identify hotspots and areas for improvement, and compare alternative product scenarios. As a foundation of the tool, Sphera’s sustainability experts developed a parameterized Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) model to represent different refrigerator types using Sphera’s Product Sustainability (GaBi) software and databases. Sphera’s Sustainability Consulting and Product Sustainability Software and Databases help organizations improve the environmental performance of their products and services by enabling data-driven decisions during design and planning, advancing product innovation and eco-design, and providing access to industry-based, high-quality Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics

Analytics & Modeling - Process Analytics

Applicable Industries

Electronics

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development

Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Manufacturing System Automation

Predictive Maintenance

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services

Data Science Services

Challenge

Whirlpool Corporation, a global manufacturer of home appliances, faced several challenges. They needed to quantify the environmental impacts of their products throughout their entire life cycle to improve their environmental performance. They also wanted to integrate environmental KPIs among the main drivers of product development. Furthermore, they aimed to identify potential areas of improvement and hotspots that needed to be addressed in a conscious PCR development for refrigerators.

About Customer

Whirlpool Corporation is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of home appliances, with approximately $22 billion in annual sales, 69,000 employees, and 54 manufacturing and technology research centers as of 2021. The Fortune 500 company markets Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, Jenn-Air, Indesit, Hotpoint, and other major brand names in nearly every country throughout the world. In Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), it has approximately 24,000 employees, a sales presence in more than 30 countries, and manufacturing sites in eight countries. Whirlpool EMEA is an operating segment of Whirlpool Corporation. Whirlpool Corporation’s European Operations Center is located in Pero, Italy.

Solution

Whirlpool EMEA worked with Sphera to create an automated eco-design tool that enables the company to perform environmental impact analyses of its products throughout their life cycle, identify hotspots and areas for improvement, and compare alternative product scenarios. As a foundation of the tool, Sphera’s sustainability experts developed a parameterized Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) model to represent different refrigerator types using Sphera’s Product Sustainability (GaBi) software and databases. Sphera’s Sustainability Consulting and Product Sustainability Software and Databases help organizations improve the environmental performance of their products and services by enabling data-driven decisions during design and planning, advancing product innovation and eco-design, and providing access to industry-based, high-quality Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data.

Impact #1	By integrating eco-design into product development, Whirlpool EMEA was able to evaluate and monitor the environmental performance of products at every stage of their life cycle and improve production processes by comparing different scenarios.
Impact #2	Identified improvement potential for the company’s overall sustainability performance.
Impact #3	Gained in-depth knowledge of the relevant aspects for the development of a specific PCR for refrigerators.

Impact #1

By integrating eco-design into product development, Whirlpool EMEA was able to evaluate and monitor the environmental performance of products at every stage of their life cycle and improve production processes by comparing different scenarios.

Impact #2

Identified improvement potential for the company’s overall sustainability performance.

Impact #3

Gained in-depth knowledge of the relevant aspects for the development of a specific PCR for refrigerators.

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Overview

Defining Product Sustainability Hotspots to Enhance Business Opportunities

Operational Impact