Page 75 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

54 Cha pte r F o u r

FIGURE 4.2 The paradigm shift in environmental management decision
making.

This approach may lead companies to move “beyond compli-
ance”; for example, if there are significant residual risks asso-
ciated with emissions that are exempt or below the regulatory
threshold.
• Under the pollution prevention paradigm, companies are
largely concerned with identifying opportunities for improv-
ing efficiency while reducing waste and emissions. On a
case-by-case basis, they will invest in pollution prevention
opportunities to the extent that the next marginal dollar of
expenditure does not exceed the corresponding savings in
operating costs. Eventually, they will reach a point of diminish-
ing returns where it is not cost-effective to continue re ducing
waste using existing technologies. However, new product and
process technologies may change the economics to the point
where zero waste or closed-loop recycling is attainable.
• Under the life-cycle management paradigm (see Chapter 10),
companies are largely concerned with assuring environmental
excellence and stakeholder satisfaction over the full life cycle