Page 389 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

364 C h a p t er T w enty

chains that are inherently resilient. A classic example is Nokia’s success
in overcoming a March 2000 supply interruption that crippled its
competitor, Ericsson, enabling Nokia to increase its market share in
cellular phones. In the wake of disruptions, such as natural dis-
asters and power failures, resilient enterprises quickly recover and
sometimes are able to gain a lasting advantage over their less nimble
competitors.
There is a fundamental linkage between resilience and sustain-
ability—resilience will enable enterprises to remain competitive,
overcome unforeseen obstacles, and achieve their long-term sustain-
ability goals. Figure 20.2 depicts a strategic framework that shows
how the successful operation and growth of an enterprise is linked to
the vitality of external systems. The framework is built around the
three sources of capital defined in Chapter 8—human capital, natural
capital, and economic capital. A resilient enterprise seeks to identify
vulnerabilities that may threaten these sources of capital, and to
develop capabilities that offset, mitigate, or eliminate those vulnera-
bilities. To assure the protection and renewal of its capital, an enter-
prise can improve its resilience as follows:

• Improve the foresight, productivity, agility, and effective-
ness of its business processes, from order fulfillment to
knowledge management. A DFE-related example would be
developing a life-cycle management process as part of new
product development.
• Improve the quality, reliability, productivity, capacity, and
adaptability of its available resources, including human,
ecological, structural, and technological assets. An example
would be designing closed-loop recycling technologies that
reduce both waste and resource use.
• Improve collaboration, creativity, communication, and cred -
ibility in the context of its key stakeholder relationships,
including employees, suppliers, contractors, customers, in -
vestors, regulators, communities, and advocacy groups. An
example would be pursuing stakeholder engagement around
climate change mitigation initiatives.
Thus, a resilience strategy will lead an enterprise to strengthen
its position with respect to the network of interdependent systems
in which it operates. As observed by strategy expert Michael Porter,
enterprise growth and prosperity are linked to the health of the
“competitive context,” the social and environmental assets that pro-
vide employee talent, market demand, and a reliable supply of
materials and energy [13]. Any type of product, process, or service
innovation can influence these linkages in numerous ways. From
this perspective, “design” is more than just creating an artifact; it