Page 317 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

CHAPTER 16

Consumer Products

Industries

Overview
As in the case of the food and beverage industries, consumer products
companies are particularly concerned about the brand and reputa-
tional implications of environmental performance. Environmental
advocacy groups have been fond of targeting well-known brand
names to call public attention to the safety and environmental short-
comings of consumer products. However, even in the absence of such
attacks, the increasing consumer interest in environmental issues such
as carbon footprints, combined with the growing environmental per-
formance emphasis of large retailer chains, has driven a broad range
of companies to ramp up their environmental management programs
and to discover the benefits of improved eco-efficiency. For example:
• Kodak was a pioneer in the practice of DFE, developing a
unique recycling program for its disposable FunSaver cam-
eras. The company has continued to innovate in digital
camera design with a careful eye toward environmental
impacts. Between 1998 and 2006 Kodak digital cameras have
decreased in weight by more than 50%, from over 15 ounces
to less than 6 ounces, significantly reducing the consump-
tion of raw materials, packaging, and fuel. Moreover, all Kodak
digital camera products were compliant with the European
Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive (see
Chapter 3), well in advance of the implementation date.
• SC Johnson was one of the first companies to incorporate eco-
efficiency into its product development efforts in the early
1990s and has developed the Greenlist™ process that classi-
fies raw materials according to their impact on the environ-
ment and human health. In 2005 it became the first major
consumer packaged goods company to partner with U.S.
EPA’s Design for the Environment program. As a result,

293