How do you identify improvement opportunities in product sustainability?

80% of a product's environmental impact is influenced by decisions made at the design stage. Work with your designers, innovators and creatives. Ensure iterative design cycle - especially once you have your evaluation results.

1. Life Cycle Analysis: Assess environmental impacts throughout the product's life cycle. 2. Stakeholder Engagement: Gather feedback from consumers, suppliers, and communities. 3. Material Sourcing: Opt for renewable, recycled, or low-impact materials. 4. Energy Efficiency: Reduce energy consumption in manufacturing and distribution. 5. Waste Reduction: Minimize waste generation and optimize recycling efforts. 6.Packaging Optimization: Use eco-friendly packaging materials and designs. 7.Supply Chain Transparency: Ensure ethical sourcing and fair labor practices. 8.Carbon Footprint Reduction: Implement strategies to lower carbon emissions. 9. Product Innovation: Develop eco-friendly alternatives or sustainable features.

Identifying improvement opportunities in product sustainability involves a systematic and science-based approach that integrates with a company's overall business & sustainability strategies. Defining a question and analysis scope, collecting comprehensive lifecycle data, and using LCA methodologies for insights is a great place to start. Generating ideas from data analysis leads to actionable improvements. Solutions are prioritized for implementation and impact monitoring, integrating sustainability into business functions and contributing to systemic change. This systematic process aims to reduce environmental footprints and drive sustainable industry practices.

Identify improvement opportunities in product sustainability through comprehensive life cycle assessments, analyzing environmental impacts from raw material extraction to end-of-life disposal. Conduct market research to understand consumer preferences for eco-friendly products and anticipate regulatory changes. Collaborate with suppliers to source sustainable materials and optimize manufacturing processes. Continuously evaluate product design, packaging, and transportation methods for efficiency and environmental impact reduction.

To find ways to make products more sustainable, it's important to look at the whole lifecycle and figure out how to reuse and recycle materials. For example, in a factory making your products, you could set up a system to recover and reuse parts from old/failed products. This helps reduce waste and makes the whole process more circular. Also, exploring new technologies that use less energy and using eco-friendly materials in production are simple but effective ways to boost sustainability in the final product too.

When looking for ways to make your product more sustainable, it's a good idea to ask for suggestions from people across your company. Many times, they've had great ideas for a while but haven't had the chance to share them.

If you already offer repair possibility for your product, this is also a perfect source of various types of improvements which can be beneficial for the product.

I think that to identify improvement opportunities in product sustainability, companies can also take a more holistic approach by examining the wider value chain, engaging with stakeholders in a collaborative manner to seek learning and improvement strategies to enhance product sustainability. Gen Zs are recognized as being sustainability conscious. Engaging with those stakeholder groups will be instructive.

Examining a product's effects on its ESG over the course of its lifecycle is necessary to find areas where product sustainability can be improved. -Conduct LCA of the product to understand its environmental impacts. -Engage with all stakeholders. -Evaluate opportunities for improving the energy efficiency of the product. - Look for ways to minimize waste generation throughout the product's lifecycle. - Assess the social impact of the product. - Gather feedback from customers regarding their sustainability expectations and preferences. - Seek collaboration opportunities and innovation within your organization and across the industry. - Establish KPIs to track and measure the sustainability performance of the product.