Design for sustainability : a framework for product/service design and its application to an electronic weighing system for earthmoving equipment

Abstract

There has been significant research effort over the last two decades to integrate environmental and social considerations into product design and development. More recently, discussion has shifted from product‐level innovation to managing transitions from current technologies and social structures to alternative sociotechnical systems that are both environmentally benign and socially equitable. In transition management theory, firms are one of several actors and transitions can be guided by nurturing niche innovations and providing conditions in which these niches can break through into the mainstream. It is important to recognise, however, that despite decades of research on less ambitious product‐level techniques, e.g. eco‐design, implementation remains limited, particularly within small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). The aim of this project is to create a framework that allows firms, including SMEs, to integrate sustainability concepts into the design and management of their products and services. The resulting framework operates at multiple levels in order to link innovations with opportunities for societal change. At a strategic level, market‐level opportunities and risks are identified in collaboration with key stakeholders using scenario‐building technique Scenario Network Mapping. These scenarios are then used at an operational level to test the performance of hypothetical product/service concepts. The aim is to identify the most robust products and services, i.e. concepts that perform adequately under all scenarios or concepts that are sufficiently flexible to adapt to each scenario’s differing market conditions. For the selected concept(s), a roadmap of product/service generations is then drawn up so that new features and stricter sustainability performance criteria can be phased in over time. At a tactical level, these performance criteria can be met using existing techniques, such as life cycle assessment and eco‐design. This framework has been developed and tested using Loadrite, an electronic weighing system for earthmoving equipment that is designed and manufactured by New Zealand‐based SME Actronic Technologies, as a detailed case study.