Green manufacturing takes center stage at Wayne State conference

(WXYZ) - Creating greener technology and lessening the impact of manufacturing on our environment. That is the focus of a major conference today at Wayne State University. Co-hosted by Ford Motor, the Sustainable Technologies conference will look for ways to improve sustainability in manufacturing. 

Ford Chairman Bill Ford has been a major proponent of this for years. Ford already tries to use natural products like soy beans to manufacture components for seats. It also recycles millions of pounds of old carpeting for use in plastic components.

LaRon Brown of Ford says that the company is continually looking for ways to improve its sustainability. "We are also encouraging all of our suppliers to find ways to reduce waste and re-use materials."

The conference will connect scientists, researchers and industry leaders as they try to find ways to make manufacturing more environmentally friendly. 

A huge part of this is trying to lessen the amount of scrap materials that end up in landfills.

The conference  runs from 9am to 3pm at the Danto Engineering Development Center on Wayne State's Campus.