Green PLM: How data & AI are making the product life cycle more sustainable

Video contribution

October 22, 2025

Data and artificial intelligence (AI) are key building blocks for sustainable product development - as the presentations and discussions at the Green PLM Conference 2024 made clear. Our exclusive interviews with experts from industry and research reveal the current challenges - and the potential that can already be exploited today.

In this article, we summarize key statements and perspectives shared by some of the conference speakers in interviews. You can find the full video with all the statements directly above this article.

From document to database - the first step towards using AI

Nikolas Zimmermann from the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (Fraunhofer IAO) emphasizes that many companies do not yet work on a data basis, but are strongly document-centric. "I first have to extract the right data from these documents. heout of these documents so that I can then use them for AI applications, for example," says Zimmermann. The path to a structured database is long and challenging - but necessary to be able to use AI effectively.

Data quality as the foundation for AI

The importance of a solid database was particularly emphasized. Stefan Gatersleben from Schaeffler Technologies emphasized: "If the foundation is poor, then the AI applications will also deliver poor results." Only with high-quality and available data can artificial intelligence unfold its full potential - for example in the identification of complex relationships in product development.

Human intelligence remains indispensable

Dr. Nicole Göckel from our technology partner CONTACT Software pointed out that AI is always dependent on human evaluation: "Without human intelligence, even artificial intelligence is nothing." Precisely because AI works probabilistically, a critical reflection of the results by experts is essential.*results - especially during verification.

AI as a decision-making aid - not as a decision-maker

Dr. Petrik Ziebeil sees AI as an important tool for decision support: "We don't use these tools to leave decisions to the tools, but to prepare them." The responsibility remains remains with the designer*AI helps to generate well-founded suggestions, especially in complex contexts. contextss.

Democratization through AI - empowerment on the store floor

AI facilitate access to complex systems - even for non-experts.*insideaccording to Pina Schlombs from Siemens: "I can use natural language to tell the co-pilot what the machine should do - and the co-pilot translates this into machine language." This is how AI becomes an enabler for more autonomy and efficiency in production.

Sustainability as the fourth dimension of product development

Dr. Erik Rieger sees sustainability as an integral part of product development in the future: "We need to have sustainability in mind from the very first idea." As a lot of relevant data is not yet available at the start, AI can help to identify trends early on and integrate them into development.

Green PLM Conference 2025 on November 6: Sustainability as a business case

The next Green PLM Conference is already in the starting blocks. On November 6, 2025, it will take place as an online-only event this time. The main topic will be "Sustainability as a business case". You can look forward to exciting top speakers and a varied program. You can find all the details about the speakers and the program on our event website.

👉 Make a note now and be there!