Sustainable value creation through innovative product design

Part of: Seliger, Günther (Ed.): Innovative solutions : proceedings / 11th Global Conference on Sustainable Manufacturing, Berlin, Germany, 23rd - 25th September, 2013. - Berlin: Universitätsverlag der TU Berlin, 2013. - ISBN 978-3-7983-2609-5 (online). - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:83-opus4-40276. - pp. 60-65.In the field of product development, many organizations struggle to create a value proposition that can overcome the headwinds of technology change, regulatory requirements, and intense competition, in an effort to satisfy the long-term goals of sustainability. Today, organizations are realizing that they have lost portfolio value due to poor reliability, early product retirement, and abandoned design platforms. Beyond Lean and Green Manufacturing, shareholder value can be enhanced and optimized by taking on a broader perspective, and integrating sustainability innovation elements into product designs. This paper presents a framework for achieving the goal of mutual value creation, and identifies the drivers of product design that are used to ultimately create what is termed - The Sustainable Products Value Proposition. Focus is placed on a balanced approach towards the integration of total cost of ownership, social and environmental improvements, and an expanded definition of product life drivers