Beyond the Carbon Baseline: from damage control to value creation.

Reducing harm is no longer enough.?

While regulations are pushing industries in the right direction, smart brands are spotting golden opportunities where others see obstacles. This isn't merely about staying compliant. It’s about uncovering what's possible when impact, innovation and profit work in tandem.?

In this piece, we explore how your brand can use Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) as a springboard for creativity and business growth.

What’s ahead?

The convergence of regulatory pressures is driving industries towards greater transparency and sustainability, putting increased scrutiny on product life cycles:?

• Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation: From 18 July 2024, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) has replaced the current Ecodesign Directive (2009/125/EC), introducing more Ecodesign criteria for a broader range of products. It aims to make sustainable products the norm on the EU market.
• Double Materiality: Companies must report both the financial impact of sustainability issues and their broader environmental and social effects, ensuring a holistic approach to corporate responsibility. This reporting requirement will be mandatory from 2025.?
• Digital Product Passport (DPP):? Set to be implemented across the EU by 2026, the DPP will accompany products throughout their lifecycle, using NFC chips, QR codes, or RFID tags to store data from design to disposal. This transparency enables informed decision-making and environmental responsibility.
• Green Claims Directive: New EU regulations eliminate unverified environmental claims, ensuring that sustainability labels are backed by evidence, preventing the misleading of consumers and promoting authentic responsibility. EU Member States will be required to implement the directive into national law by February 2026.

While preparing for these regulatory changes is crucial, true industry leaders won't wait for legislation to evolve.?

Unlocking innovation through life cycle thinking

At the heart of this paradigm shift lies the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)—a powerful tool that allows you to see our products not as static objects, but as dynamic systems with far-reaching impacts.?

The journey starts with establishing a carbon baseline, pinpointing where emissions peak across your value chain. It's a critical starting point, but it's just that—a start. The real challenge lies in what you do with this information.

It's tempting to opt for quick fixes like light-weighting or switching to non virgin materials, or overhauling your packing design – but smart brands will think bigger, leaning into system design and innovation.

If you're using recycled plastic, great - but how does that fit into a future circular system? Do you have the production volume so that you can set up a service to reclaim, remanufacture, and resell that plastic? Can you create new consumer value that encourages new models of usage and changes attitudes to ownerships?

These ‘bigger’ ideas can help lessen the pain associated with preparing to adopt sustainable production and drive new revenue models for your business.

The key is to look beyond just "going green" and ask: does this strategy create new consumer value and in turn new business opportunities? Can it generate additional revenue streams? That's where the real potential lies—in strategies that not only reduce environmental impact but also drive next generation? business growth.

• In the right hands, an LCA is intrinsically the start of the creative innovation cycle. Read our recent newsletter to discover why.

Linking sustainability and profit mandate

This holistic approach unlocks innovative pathways unlocking brand differentiation and helping radically reduce carbon usage. HP Renew Solutions, for example, has achieved remarkable success with hardware-as-a-service and refurbished electronics, matching core business profit margins in less than a year.

Meanwhile, renowned beauty and wellness brand L’OCCITANE Group has integrated circularity into its core strategy through their eco-refill models. These refills are 33% cheaper than the original product, reducing both costs and the amount of plastic used in packaging. This planet-friendly approach not only reduces waste but also attracts budget-conscious consumers, potentially boosting sales and market share.

• Sustainable brands are winning. Discover how design-rich, added-value experiences are the key to delivering impact.

In the world of fashion, The North Face has rolled out their "Clothes the Loop" program, encouraging customers to bring back used clothing in exchange for a coupon towards their next purchase. This genuine effort not only champions recycling and waste reduction but also builds a loyal customer base. What's more, by offering discounts on future purchases, The North Face cultivates repeat business, boosts customer lifetime value, and deepens brand engagement.

With subscription services still booming, pioneering product brands are embracing repairability to leverage Product-as-a-Service models. 飞利浦 offers their Lumea Series 9000 hair removal device as a monthly subscription with a personalised app, transforming a traditional product into an ongoing, value-added service. The result? Less waste, longer customer relationships, and steady revenue streams.

• #ProductAsAService helps brands forge deeper relationships and unlock value from the circular economy. Read our recent issue to discover how.

The business case for circular design

For circularity to truly take root, it must align with financial viability. This isn't about greenwashing or token feel-good initiatives—it's about discovering new wellsprings of value and growth.

Getting ready for regulatory change is critical, but sustainability cannot be a secondary, compliance-driven task. It must be at the forefront of business innovation and strategy.?

The shift to radical value chain transformation is about creating resilient, thriving businesses prepared for 21st-century challenges.

By rethinking product design, production, and usage, companies can make sustainability a cornerstone of their competitive advantage—driving growth, fostering innovation, and building a future that benefits all.

Next Steps

Looking ahead, we must see LCAs as more than just tools for meeting sustainability regulations but as instruments for fostering creative and responsible design. By considering a product’s entire lifecycle, designers can create beautiful, circular products that consumers love and that are good for the planet.

Talk to us today about:

• Assessing your product lifecycle and pinpointing opportunities for innovation.
• Building your sustainable futures strategy.
• Creating and testing value-propositions for your new sustainable products and services.

Our future planet needs designing, so let’s start together.

+ Ask about our Impact by Design workshop ??

[email protected]

Thank you for reading.

If you found this article useful, subscribe and join us for a monthly dose of inspiration and actionable advice on design innovation. In the meantime, please share this article with your connections and let us know what you think in the comments.

Stay tuned for more.

About Rodd

Rodd is a design and innovation agency dedicated to helping innovative brands do beautiful things.

We work within the inner circle of some of the world’s leading consumer brands and sustainable innovators.

For two decades, we have been at the forefront of brand innovation, helping our partners navigate strategic challenges and tell their story through beautifully executed design.

Together, we will help your brand decipher what’s right for your progress, for people and the planet.

Find out more on https://rodd.uk.com/ or drop us a line at [email protected]