Professor Baillie believes that the new ‘green’ is the "what and who" composites are being designed for, "what" material needs we have, and "what" access different groups have to the technical knowledge required, etc. Industry is now showing concerns for corporate social responsibility and social impact. Recent conversations with prestigious materials institutions have indicated a growing interest in moving into areas of research that relate their work to beneficial social impacts.
The book's example of Waste for Life demonstrates the genre proposed for the case study chapters. Waste for Life adopts scientific knowledge and low-threshold/high-impact technologies.
Caroline Baillie is Professor of Praxis in Engineering and Social Justice at the University of San Diego, a highly cited materials engineer, and cofounder of the not-for-profit organization Waste-for Life.
Randika Jayasinghe is the Project Coordinator of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade funded project led by UWA: ‘Australian-Sri Lankan University partnerships to develop community-based recycling businesses’. Randika has a background in waste management and has recently completed her PhD on the use of waste-based composites.