When looking at ways to make your company/products “greener” or more “sustainable” there are many concepts that one may come across; to understand the “big picture” we have compiled them bellow with examples and explanations;

1.Eco-design is a process in which your products will be or are ecologically-engineered. The form of the products must follow their functions (use all product attributes in context) and lead to a waste free environment. Here is an example of a product which is “Eco-designed”:

This first example was designed by “Andrew Kim” and integrates the “form (square bottle shape for more effective transportation) & function” leading to a no waste environment idea (easily recyclable).

2.Eco-Efficiency implies developing higher value added products by reducing their environmental impact. It must include the whole products value chain (i.e.: from raw materials to manufacturer, to distributors, to retailers, etc…). We need to stimulate innovation/creativity to find new (or “greener”) ways of doing more with less. In fact, you can focus on reducing materials, energy, chemicals but also by increasing your products life cycle and recyclability.

An interesting example of Eco-Efficiency is the Car-Sharing concept in Switzerland "Mobility" - Allows railway passengers to get dedicated mobility options at the arrival point of their journey almost everywhere in Switzerland. - http://www.mobility.ch

3. Lean Manufacturing
Relates to “eco-efficiency” and was pioneered by “Toyota”. While the focus is on the improvement of quality, production time and cost reduction; it directly correlates to a “sustainable” business practice through its focus on the identification and elimination of waste.
Simply put and as a manufacturer, you will be able to be more competitive and achieve higher profits by improving the “workflow”, eliminate production “bottlenecks” and simplify the supply chain.

4.Eco-effectiveness which is also named “cradle to cradle” (design protocol) implies that “waste equals food” (i.e.: with products containing no harmful substances such as chemicals). Eco-effectiveness goes beyond “eco-efficiency” as we strive to work in a “closed loop system” using a “regenerative” approach.

Concretely this means that your products must use materials that can be safely cycled as ‘biological nutrients’ and ‘technical nutrients. They must be safe for human and environmental health and fully recyclable/biodegradable. In cases where the type of materials does not exist, an alternative should be researched collaboratively with all your stakeholders.

Method Laundry - http://methodlaundry.com


Mirra Chairs by herman miller - http://www.hermanmiller.com/Products/Mirra-Chairs

5.Environmental Management Systems - ISO 14000 series
The ISO 14001 and others in the series are well known standards for social responsibility and “environmental management system”; but what exactly are they for? In short they will allow you to identify/control and adopt a systematic approach to improve the environmental performance of your company.

For instance, the first step in applying such systems is to carry out an initial review of your company’s site and products in terms of “environmental aspects”. You must then measure and monitor all identified critical factors, take action and finally apply a “continual improvement process” to ultimately adopt a green way of doing business and developing new products.

6.Life Cycle Analysis
A life cycle analysis will measure the environmental and social impact (from raw materials to disposal) of your products.
Consumer goods companies for example would look at two types of systems; the life cycle of a product (such as bottled water) or an activity (such as drinking water).

This kind of analysis seeks to increase efficiency and should ultimately guide your decision making process when launching new products. You can use it to compare actual products with the ones you have in development or analyze the different types of emissions at all “development” stages of the product, etc…