With the increase in interest in sustainable materials and manufacturing, there will be a significant opportunity for U.S. manufacturers that use common sense, good manufacturing practices. 

The United States needs to do a much better job at recycling, especially plastics waste, which at a 5% recycling rate is trailing recycling rates for other packaging and containers. 

Sustainability in the construction sector is receiving attention in the EU due to the scale of this sector and its share of materials usage, greenhouse gas emissions in Europe, as well as ongoing geopolitical and energy crises. 

In September, The Adhesive and Sealant Council hosted its first Sustainability Forum in Pittsburg, a two-day event that discussed topics including trends, challenges, opportunities, and market drivers. 

In collaboration with TU Dresden, Fraunhofer researchers have developed a process for obtaining high-purity ethyl acetate from whey, which can be used, for example, to produce environmentally friendly adhesives. 

H.B. Fuller is working to build a solid foundation of sustainability. The company’s global environmental compliance and sustainability leader, Jonathan Blaine, explains how.  

Maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) engineers are looking for new ways to reduce their carbon footprint and to this end, engineering adhesives are increasingly being used in place of mechanical fastenings. 

Increasingly important to industrial manufacturing in recent years, structural adhesives offer a strong, cost-effective, and fast joining technology. 

Innovation comes from many places. From the vantage point of a scientist or engineer, nature provides many examples to emulate.