Sustainability a Key Focus for Businesses, PTC LiveWorx 2023

Sustainability and compliance are overarching strategies that traverse PTC’s entire product portfolio.

Catherine Knicker, PTC’s chief strategy and sustainability officer said it is important that companies redirect their sustainability focus upstream and enhance their engineer’s awareness of the environmental impact implied in their designs.

“This includes choices like materials suppliers, and manufacturing and operating processes. When engineers understand the footprint associated with their design, they make choices that are far more sustainable,” she said. “On the one hand, they can make today's products in a much greener way. And on the other hand, design next-generation green products.

She highlighted Cummins, a global leader in combustion engines for more than 100 years, that has taken a bold sustainability initiative called Planet 2050 that includes a commitment to reduce the weight of its engines and guarantee that each engine part has a circular dimension to it.

Cummins is leveraging PTC’s Creo generative AI design technology to model parts that use far less material but without sacrificing strength and durability.

“Making existing products greener is great, but Cummins isn't stopping there,” Knicker said.  “They are also creating a fundamentally greener next-generation line of hydrogen engines.

For example, in the U.S., converting medium and heavy-duty trucks to clean hydrogen would eliminate almost one-quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.