Sustainable Minds, a greener product design software and information company, has announced a partnership with The Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network (MAGNET), a professional organisation that is focused on helping manufacturing and technology-based companies in Ohio adopt innovative methods and technologies. The partnership will bring ecoDesign and sustainability practices, expertise and software to help advance the adoption of greener product design practices for manufacturers. This partnership will also serve to support Magnet’s eco-SMART Manufacturing Program that is aimed at educating and assisting Ohio manufacturers with sustainable manufacturing and eco-Innovation strategies.

Greener product design means designing the whole product system from a life cycle perspective. Understanding what this means and how to design this way is the first step — and Sustainable Minds Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) software helps bridge this information gap. The software enables rapid iteration and comparison of new product concepts, and provides quantified environmental performance information during the design process to help make design and manufacturing trade-off decisions.

“This partnership is key to opening up a dialogue with manufacturers about ecoDesign and sustainable manufacturing strategies,” stated Terry Swack, CEO and co-founder of Sustainable Minds. “Our mission is to bring environmental sustainability to mainstream product development and manufacturing in an accessible, empowering and credible way. Manufacturers have a responsibility to be conscious of the environmental impact of the products they make, what’s causing the impacts and the changes that can be made to improve environmental performance. Our partnership with MAGNET allows us to deliver our ecoDesign and lifecycle assessment software directly to this community, enabling them to develop new knowledge, skills, and competencies to integrate environmental sustainability into the way they do business. As part of the partnership, will be offering training and discounted subscriptions to all types of MAGNET clients to help make this happen.”

“Last year we launched the eco-SMART Manufacturing Program that is designed to help manufacturers in our region meet growing consumer and regulatory demand for sustainable products,” stated Mike Kaminski, Senior Business Consultant at MAGNET. “Sustainable Minds fits right into this mission, and will be instrumental in helping bring ecoDesign and sustainable manufacturing education to our community. With Sustainable Minds software, we will be able to offer a more effective tool that will help manufacturers assess the environmental impact of the products they make. Together, with Sustainable Minds, we are advancing the understanding and practice of whole systems and lifecycle thinking in product design processes and look forward to delivering product design education to our clients.”

MAGNET will be offering a joint workshop with Sustainable Minds on a quarterly basis. The first workshop is scheduled for 3rd March, 2010. For more information, visit http://www.ecosmartmanufacturing.org/sustainable_minds.aspx