Materials management

Overview

The process for planning, organizing, and controlling the flow of materials into and out of an organization is known as materials management. It focuses on the purchase, use, and disposal of materials in industrial production. It involves and intersects with many company operations, such as:

• Procurement
• Routine operations & maintenance
• Waste management

With growing concern for natural resources and waste, materials management has evolved into sustainable materials management. Sustainable materials management adds dimension to traditional concerns, looking at broader impacts (environmental, social, and economic) over a longer time period (the entire lifecycle of materials). It takes the focus of materials management beyond activities that occur within a company’s own operations.

The EPA defines sustainable materials management as a systemic approach to using and reusing materials and resources most productively throughout their life cycles, from the point of resource extraction through final disposal.

The goal of sustainable materials management is to reduce the amount of materials used. As a practice, it strives to minimize or eliminate negative environmental impacts. It also works to combine materials in ways that best ensure the cradle-to-cradle ability to reclaim and reuse resources at the end of a product’s useful life.

Business risks

In an increasingly resource constrained world, product-based businesses that are not well schooled in sustainable materials management will suffer. They will not only lose by being ill prepared if critical materials are affected by factors like climate change, resource scarcity, and supply change disruptions. They will also lose the time it takes to create the alternative processes and resources needed to solve such problems.

When companies look at materials through the lens of sustainability, they better understand root problems that will affect their ability to do business. They can direct resources toward solving those problems. They can better protect and innovate their product requirements. They can engage in collaborative activities with business partners and suppliers to everyone’s benefit.

What can businesses do?

Businesses that incorporate sustainable materials management into their product development and sourcing practices can realize significant benefits. These benefits include:

• savings generated by efficiency and reduced waste
• better risk management as negative environmental and social impacts are addressed
• preparedness or – or avoidance of – supply chain disruptions and resource scarcity
• value-driven research and development for more sustainable materials

Synthetic

The production of synthetic materials can have a variety of negative environmental impacts. Most metal processing practices are energy and water intensive, and cause air and water pollution. Plastic production starts with non-renewable fossil-fuels, and ends with non-biodegradable waste. Many synthetic materials are still not commonly recycled, resulting in substantial landfill or incineration waste. Many manufacturers are developing lower impact production methods and designing products for a circular economy to allow for reuse or parts reclamation.

Metallic minerals

Most of the significant environmental and social impacts associated with metallic minerals occur during the extraction and processing phases. These processes are energy and water intensive, and often cause air and water pollution. Sustainable use of these resources focuses on using renewable energy resources for extraction and production processes, improved emissions control, and improved reuse (by melting and reforming) or recycling of the metallic mineral materials at the end of the product’s useful life.

Agricultural

Production of agricultural resources can create pollution, soil depletion and erosion, dangerous or unhealthy working conditions, and inhumane conditions for animals. Demand for some agricultural products (like palm oil) has lead to deforestation. Sustainably produced agricultural resources come from responsible stewardship of both the natural resources and human resources used in production. Consider site location, crop diversity, and cultivation methods; effective soil and water management practices; respect for human and workers’ rights; and responsible management of animal welfare.

Animal

Using animal materials in products raises issues of the environmental impact and the treatment or slaughter of the animals. Sustainable production of animal materials requires humane animal management and responsible stewardship of land and water. Purveyors of animal products are focused on labels and certifications that show concern for and attention to animal welfare. Many manufacturers are moving toward renewable synthetic materials as replacements for wearable animal materials.

Non-metallic minerals

Most of the significant environmental and social impacts associated with non-metallic minerals occur during extraction and processing phases. These processes are energy and water intensive, and often cause air and water pollution. Sustainable use of these resources focuses on using renewable energy resources for extraction and production processes, improved emissions control, and improved reuse or recycling of the non-metallic mineral materials.

Forest

Forest materials are primarily a function of demand for paper and wood products. They are also depleted by deforestation that happens because of demand for land to grow other agricultural products (such as palm oil or live stock). Conditioning demand for forest materials on sustainable forest management and the protection of forests will help to safeguard the long-term availability and price stability of forest products, as well as the high-value carbon sinks forests provide. Sustainably cultivated and harvested forest materials are increasingly available, with independent third-party certification and/or labeling from organizations such as the Forest Stewardship Council and the Sustainable Forest Initiative. See related issue: Materials management, Agricultural

Critical materials & conflict minerals

Packaging

Making packaging sustainable is a significant opportunity to demonstrate environmental stewardship. Using life cycle assessment, companies can find ways all along the value chain, from design to disposal, to reduce the environmental impacts of the packaging they use for their products and services. Whether restricting use of toxic chemicals or increasing recycled content and recyclability, innovating packaging can save costs and delight customers.

Resources

• The Future of Recycling for People, Packagers, Policymakers

Materials basics

A dictionary definition of materials is “the substance or substances from which a thing is made.” In a business context, materials are the critical components of the products that are designed, produced, sold, purchased, used and, ultimately, disposed of. That sounds pretty straightforward, until you consider the number and variety of substances from which products are actually made.

Some materials are the building blocks for the products we buy or use. These are known as commodities. Examples are:

• Stone
• Wood
• Crude Oil
• Iron
• Wheat
• Nuts
• Fruit
• Livestock
• Milk
• Cotton

We purchase and use commodities, as well as products that businesses produce by combining or processing commodities and other products.

There are many different ways to categorize the materials sold or incorporated into the products we buy. Some types of materials are good, and some are not so good, for people and the environment. Consider these types of materials:

• Synthetic
• Renewable
• Energy-efficient
• Local/regional
• Low-VOC emitting
• Reusable
• Organic

So why think about the different types of materials in what we consume? The way we plan for, design, produce, use, reuse, recycle, or dispose of products is closely connected to the types of materials a product is made of.

From a sustainability perspective, it makes sense to avoid materials that have a negative impact on people or the planet. It also makes sense to combine and use materials in ways that make it feasible to reuse or recycle them as much as possible after the product has reached the end of its useful life.

To move toward more sustainable ways of using materials, businesses are increasingly engaging in and reforming the practice of materials management.