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Betting on a Better World Product designers face challenges working with eco-friendly materials by Martin Vilaboy The sourcing of eco-friendly materials and development of more sustainable products are proving to be daunting challenges for a goodly percentage of businesses that have made the commitment to move toward green products and processes, suggest an Aberdeen Group survey of a cross section of consumer and commercial product suppliers from around the globe. And it’s much more than high cost and low availability of cleaner components and technology that are frustrating efforts. A full one-third to half of the firms taking green steps struggle to meet product launch dates and/ or keep within development budgets. And right up there behind material costs and initial capex concerns, struggles within an uncertain regulatory and compliance environment is the number two challenge, say survey respondents. Indeed, the attempt to optimize products for environmental impact rather that just to meet government requirements, say Aberdeen analysts, “can present unfamiliar obstacles for engineers traditionally tasked with assessing product form, fit and function.” The reality of developing eco-friendly products “often requires product development teams to contemplate factors, materials and approaches that they traditionally would not have considered,” they continue. Not that it’s keeping executives from feeling quite green, at least not for now. More than half of companies have deployed some form of a design for a greener products strategy, according to a 2008 survey of engineer executives. All told, a whopping 96 percent of companies surveyed currently are pursuing at least one design for a green strategy. What’s more, the call to arms is coming from the top down, Aberdeen analysts argue, as 36 | InsideOutdoor | Fall 2008
push for change often generates from corporate and board level executives. To define “green” within this discussion, respondents were following three basic paths: products from or for recycled or reclaimed materials plus friendly disposal, reducing/eliminating natural resource consumption and emissions, and reducing packaging and logistics costs. In some ways, those higher-level executives feel as if they don’t have much choice but to move in these directions. The way things are viewed, you gotta give customers what they want. “Essentially, no executive can publically say no to a green initiative without public scrutiny of eco-friendly watch organizations,” Aberdeen analysts find. When asked about the drivers of greener product development, respondents listed corporate responsibility, conscientious customers and demand for better use of natural resources all among the top five, while a “corporate responsibility initiative” was named as a top driver by 74 percent of respondents in another recent survey. That’s not all good news, as it points to what’s arguably the biggest challenge so far with eco product initiatives: it’s difficult to measure the top and bottom line impact of growing social pressure to act responsibly. While there may be enormous pressure to go green, “it’s hard to quantify the advantage,” Aberdeen analysts point out. Traditional product development strategies can be measured directly, Aberdeen analyst argue, either in terms of dollars saved in a budget or a shortened cycle, but business benefits tied to improved branding and differentiation “are harder to measure and an order of magnitude removed, particularly with the product development organization.” And make no mistake, sales managers and financial officer types will need to hear about more than “soft” benefits and proper public perception, much less the altruism of doing the right thing, in order to embrace the movement. For them, eco means an opportunity for growth, a means to differentiate what they see as a “commodity” product, findings suggest. In other words, it’s the desire for the proverbial “new and improved” product. The problems is, that won’t likely work for everyone. Certainly, there is heavy social pressure on corporations to lessen their environmental impact, and consumers like to think of themselves as doing their part to fight climate change. It still remains to be seen, however, whether or not consumers are willing to walk the walk with their wallets and pay the premium that’s still present most of the time. Surveys of retailers from both RSR Research and Retail Forward from earlier this year, for example, both cited little or no demand from consumers as a top barrier to introducing more green products into stores. More recently, a July 2008 survey of more than 2,800 U.S. consumers age 16 years and older by Yankelovich suggests that Americans who are strongly concerned about the environment still represents a “niche opportunity,” says Walker Smith, Yankelovich president. “While (consumers) are highly aware of environmental issues due to the glut of media attention, the simple fact is that Fall 2008 | InsideOutdoor | 37
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