Book excerpt: The 19th CIRP Conference on Life Cycle Engineering continues a strong tradition of scientific meetings in the areas of sustainability and engineering within the community of the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP). The focus of the conference is to review and discuss the current developments, technology improvements, and future research directions that will allow engineers to help create green businesses and industries that are both socially responsible and economically successful. The symposium covers a variety of relevant topics within life cycle engineering including Businesses and Organizations, Case Studies, End of Life Management, Life Cycle Design, Machine Tool Technologies for Sustainability, Manufacturing Processes, Manufacturing Systems, Methods and Tools for Sustainability, Social Sustainability, and Supply Chain Management.