Page 235 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

212 Cha pte r T e n

In addition, companies are being held accountable for the content
and quality of their products, and ignorance of supplier practices
is intolerable. For example, the experience of the food and beverage
industry with product contamination (see Chapter 15) has made clear
the need for proactive supply chain integrity assurance.
Generally, there are two different supply chain perspectives that
need to be balanced in LCM—upstream and downstream. As depicted
in Figure 10.6, upstream LCM is concerned with maximizing operat-
ing efficiency, anticipating safety and secu-
rity risks to ensure business continuity, and
PERHAPS THE GREATEST
OPPORTUNITY FOR DFE minimizing the environmental footprint in
terms of resource utilization. Downstream
BREAKTHROUGHS IS
LCM is concerned with ensuring that the
COLLABORATION BETWEEN
product is used safely, delivers value to the
CUSTOMERS AND SUPPLIERS.
customer, and is properly managed at end-
of-life. There are a variety of mechanisms that
companies have used to improve environmental practices in the sup-
ply chain; for example:
• Electronics companies that depend on strategic suppliers to
produce complex components and assemblies have empha-
sized supplier training, codes of conduct, and auditing (see
Chapter 11).
• Chemical companies have emphasized product stewardship
to ensure that their customers are handling, storing, using,
and disposing of chemicals in a safe and environmentally
responsible fashion (see Chapter 13).
• Consumer products companies that purchase natural resource
commodities such as cotton or coffee have emphasized label-
ing, certification, and traceability (see Chapters 15 and 16).
Perhaps the greatest opportunity for DFE breakthroughs is collabo-
ration between customers and suppliers to jointly explore redesign
of products and processes. Collaborative innovation, sometimes called
“co-creation,” can enable solutions that might not have been possible

FIGURE 10.6 Life-cycle management across the supply chain.