Despite facing product safety concerns, rising labour costs and increasing costs for raw materials, China remains the number one destination for manufacturers, according to the 2007 Annual Study - Innovation in Emerging Markets by the Manufacturing Industry Group at global consultancy and financial services firm Deloitte & Touche LLP.

International Ford Motor Company has developed an anti-corrosion coating that does not use heavy metals. The company claims the pre-treatment process is more efficient as it reduces water usage in automotive paint shops by half and decreases the production of waste sludge by 90%. The technique makes use of a zirconium oxide vehicle bath rather than the conventional heavy metal zinc phosphate bath

Researchers from the Risoe National Laboratory - Technical University of Denmark, in Roskilde, have used magnetic cooling technology to bring environmentally friendly refrigeration closer to development. Magnetic cooling technology exploits materials such as gadolinium which heat up when exposed to a magnetic field and cool down when that field is removed.

There is a conflict between the research assessment exercise for UK academics and the need to integrate sustainable developmnent into egineering education, concluded delagates at the Global Sustainability - The Future for Engineering Education Forum on 18 September 2007 in London, UK.

The Polymer Processing Research Centre (PPRC) at Queen's University Belfast, UK, is researching multilayer polyamide and polyethylene fuel tanks that help motorcycle manufacturers meet stringent emission standards in the USA. Polymers also improve impact and corrosion resistance and are more cost effective that the metal fuel tanks, say researchers.