Glocalized Solutions for Sustainability in Manufacturing

The term "glocalization" is a combination of the words "globalization" and "localization". It was invented to describe a product or service design that was developed and distributed globally, but is also adapted specifically to each locality or culture it is marketed in.

Products and services to ensure a high standard of living worldwide are linked to the use of natural resources, which are limited and not evenly distributed. The use of these resources is also linked to the environmental impact over all stages of a product life cycle from material extraction, transport and manufacturing to usage and to the end-of-life.

Global supply chains consist of local sites along the life cycle, each with specific local capabilities and constraints. The local scope for design, however, is always also linked to global impacts.

Future glocalized engineering solutions will have the potential to address global challenges by providing products, services and processes taking into account local capabilities and constraints to achieve an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable society in a global perspective.