Page 237 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

214 Cha pte r T e n

FIGURE 10.7 The Sustainable Business Decision Framework.

be tween financial gains and longer-term concerns such as company
image and future barriers to growth. It also helps to ensure that
voluntary sustainability initiatives will deliver maximum benefits
in terms of shareholder value.
The SBDF can be used to support DFE in several ways: (a) by
senior management to establish broad environmental objectives and
decision guidelines; (b) by product development teams to include
environmental considerations in product life-cycle reviews; (c) by
marketing and communications staff to describe environmental and
other benefits of the product; and (d) by external relations staff to
support a balanced dialogue with stakeholders, including financial
analysts. The important characteristics of the SBDF are as follows:
• Potential decision consequences are classified according to
their impacts on stakeholder value. Internal company stake-
holders are distinguished from external stakeholders such as
local community residents, government agencies, and public
interest groups.
• Decision consequences are further classified in terms of eco-
nomic, environmental, and social impacts, including both posi-
tive and negative outcomes. Note that these three aspects
often overlap (e.g., labor productivity, employee safety, and
job satisfaction are closely linked) and should not be treated
separately.