TORC

The AVIVA Stadium: Dublin's New Achitectural Masterpiece

Dublin’s new AVIVA Stadium strikes a stunning shape against the surrounding sky. The roof, soaring like a wave oe’r the hallowed turf, exudes an obvious air of confidence in our sporting prospects.

Equally significant, perhaps, to our wider national fortunes, is a little less obvious design detail incorporated.

For the AVIVA roof isn’t just all for show: it is also the giant rain-catcher in the stadium’s water-conservation system – rainwater, harvested from the roof is conveyed to tanks in the basement and used to irrigate the pitch, as needed.

Repositioning existing products
This is a side to the new Green Economy that often gets overlooked – ie. the opportunity afforded established engineering products (eg. drainpipes) to be repositioned as green technology (eg. a water harvesting system) by modifying/extending appropriately.

For Green is too often presented as something radically new and different, despite the fact that it touches most companies internally and externally.

Green isn’t merely about a range of leading edge products for energy saving. Rather, it is a philosophy that pervades the whole way an organisation thinks, works and strategically positions its processes and products for the future.

Green opportunities abound
Green opportunities arise across all fronts. Firstly, supply chain decisions can be made to reduce overall environmental impact including handling, packaging, storage, process energy and disposal.

Secondly, internal processes themselves can be changed to reduce energy inputs, internal handling, reworking, utility and administrative costs.

Most of these sound like old fashioned cost reductions and to an extent they are … with an important difference.

Carbon as a strategic imperative
Industry is now strategically positioning itself around Carbon and previous conflicts between unit costs, revenue and throughput are to an extent overridden by the Carbon imperative. Buyers demanding products bearing Carbon consumption labels may not be far off.

External opportunities require a close look at markets. Many companies not directly involved in the Green economy fail to recognise opportunities although they have significant offerings to make with their standard product range in new Green applications.

Product redesign offers further scope in areas such as life extension, reduced weight, disposal costs and reductions in energy consumption. Vigorous continual improvement of the environmental impact of products is a strong selling tool.

A new paradigm
Back in the 1970’s, as the transistorised products from Japan increased market share there was a joke about the Japanese company that had such a good year that they were moving to a smaller building.

It was funny at the time, but now as the Green Economy opens up all around us, it is time for manufacturing/engineering companies to wise up to a similar paradigm shift now unfolding – & transition processes & products accordingly.