Page 324 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

Consumer Pr oducts Industries 299

value for our business. At K-C we are working to implement a delib-
erate process for considering environmental concerns in the design
of products and packaging. We believe this process will result in
reduced costs, increased revenues, reduced risks, and increased brand
equity and will position the company as an industry leader.”
Specifically, Strassner believes that pursuing DFE can

• Reduce costs—by reducing the consumption of raw materi-
als and energy and by improving operating efficiency
• Increase revenues—by developing innovative solutions for
consumers and improved customer partnerships (both price
and volume impacts are possible over time)
• Reduce risks—by avoiding negative events that could result
in one-time costs and/or market share or stock value loss
(temporary or long-term)
• Build brand equity
• Position the company as an industry leader, motivating em -
ployees and serving to attract new talent
DFE principles are being integrated into K-C’s overall product
development process, which includes cost, quality, and safety con-
siderations as well as life-cycle thinking that encompasses the sup-
ply chain and the use and disposal of K-C products. As a starting
point, K-C introduced environmental questions into its stage-gate-
process guidance documents. This is further supported by specific
tools to enable environmental evaluations, such as product environ-
mental footprints and life-cycle assessments. In 2008, K-C instituted
a DFE training program for engineering and design professionals,
and all business units have agreed to incorporate DFE into their sus-
tainability strategies.

Procter & Gamble: Ensuring a Better Quality of Life
The venerable Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) was one of the early
pioneers in environmental sustainability and life-cycle assessment.
George Carpenter, the now-retired Vice President for Sus tainability
at P&G, was a prime mover in raising awareness of environmental
issues in the business community, and, in 1992, helped to found
the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI), a cross-
sectoral industry consortium that continues to develop tools and
best practices for sustainability (see Chapter 4). P&G has also been
an active contributor to the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development, and former CEO John Pepper coauthored an influen-
tial publication with the CEO of DuPont, arguing that sustainability
could be achieved by harnessing market forces [3].
P&G adopted a definition of sustainability first promulgated by
the government of the United Kingdom: “sustainable development is