Page 236 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

Pr oduct Life-Cycle Management 213

if the parties worked separately. Individual companies inevitably are
hampered by the constraints of existing markets and infrastructure.
For example, electronic device manufacturers are limited by the perfor-
mance characteristics of available materials and components, while
chipmakers are constrained by the technologies of fabrication equip-
ment. As a consequence, they may settle for “local optimization” of
design features within their control. In contrast, by lifting constraints
and pooling their talents, collaborating companies can seek “global
optimization” and develop innovative technologies that benefit the
entire value-added chain. An example is the introduction of entirely
new fabrication processes that eliminate the use of chemical solvents.
Another type of collaboration that has flourished recently is the
formation of joint sustainability initiatives among companies within
an industry sector, often including direct competitors. Examples
include the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable, the Elec-
tric Utility Sustainable Supply Chain Alliance, the Pharmaceutical
Supply Chain Initiative, and the Electronic Industry Citizenship
Coalition (see Chapter 11). In each case, the parties have decided that
it makes more sense to work collectively on managing environmental
and social performance in their upstream supply networks.

Integrated Business Decision Making
Practitioners of life-cycle management have come to believe that
broader awareness of stakeholder concerns across the supply chain
leads to better business decisions. In particular, design decisions made
during new product development will have major impacts upon
business performance for years to come and should be informed by
a comprehensive life-cycle perspective. However, standard practices
in business decision making are typically confined to financial analy-
sis. Even among companies that are recognized as industry leaders in
sustainability, integration of environmental or social issues into busi-
ness case development remains largely an informal, qualitative exer-
cise, and there is little use of systematic frameworks.
One exception is the Sustainable Business Decision Framework
(SBDF), developed under the auspices of the World Business Coun-
cil for Sustainable Development and validated through several
applications with multinational cement companies [5]. The SBDF was
motivated by a survey of global best practices across all industries,
which revealed a widespread need for decision methods to account
for sustainability-related trade-offs in business case development.
Using a stakeholder value matrix, illustrated in Figure 10.7, the SBDF
identifies linkages between sustainable development outcomes and
the company’s ability to reduce costs, increase profits, and build
competitive advantage. Thus, it enables integration of sustainability
issues into strategic and tactical decisions, including trade-offs