| 1. |
- Gould, Rachael
(författare)
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Integrating sustainability into concept selection decision-making
- 2015
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The audience for this research is fellow researchers and others helping product developers to start including sustainability when they are selecting product concepts.The aims of the research were to understand the needs of product developers integrating sustainability into concept selection and what might be done to help them.The research approach was to iterate between the three studies of design research methodology. The first study focused on understanding the challenges that product developers face when integrating sustainability into concept selection. The aim of the second study was to identify potential support to help product developers to deal with the challenges. And the third study was to try out the potential support to see if it actually helps product developers address the challenges they face. These studies were executed through reviewing literature and exploring two cases.The results led to a focus on supporting the decision-making process and supporting analysing with respect to social sustainability. Selecting concepts is a complex decision made under challenging conditions. Bringing in the complex, new and unfamiliar aspects of sustainability can make good decision-making even more challenging. When integrating sustainability, two particular barriers to good concept selection decision-making are errors due to illusory correlation and confirmation bias.Despite the challenges, how good you are at making decisions matters. And a good decision-making process drives good decisions. This is especially relevant when bringing in complex and unfamiliar aspects, such as sustainability. A likely candidate for helping product developers achieve a good decision-making process when integrating sustainability is active, value-focused decision-support. In other words, structuring the process into bite-sized steps and using particular techniques to avoid bias. At each step, decision-makers’ focus is anchored by the things that stakeholders value as important. Further research is required to investigate the details of how to employ these process-support approaches in the particular context of integrating sustainability into concept selection decision-making.In addition to a process, complicated selection decisions demand analysis. Support for analysing concepts with respect to social sustainability was identified as a gap. We explored a potential approach that might contribute to this analysis, but found that it was not useful for the particular decision in hand. This opened up some interesting questions for further research.
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| 2. |
- Basereh Taramsari, Hossein, et al.
(författare)
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ASSESSING SYSTEMIC DRIVERS AND BARRIERS TO SUSTAINABLE DESIGN TRANSITIONS : RELATIONSHIP STRENGTHS AND RESEARCH GAPS
- 2023
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the Design Society. - : Cambridges Institutes Press. ; 3, s. 677-686
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The sustainable design transition has proven to be a challenging process, in part due to the diverse set of stakeholders, which includes the general public, policymakers, scientific researchers, and businesses. In prior work, the interconnected relationships among systematic drivers and barriers for sustainable design were identified and mapped using a causal loop diagram at a relatively abstract level. To further understand and characterize this complex system, this research aims to identify the relationship strength levels among the variables in the system, as indicated by previous research identified in the literature. In addition, the knowledge maturity levels of these identified relationships are specified to illustrate strengths and gaps in the literature. The findings are used to create a refined system representation that illustrates the power dynamics between systemic driving forces to sustainable design transitions. The results of this work reveal valuable insights about the linkages among the driving forces of sustainable design transitions that can be used as a foundation for further investigation, such as experiments and data analytics that can better quantify these relationships. © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press.
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| 3. |
- Bertoni, Marco, et al.
(författare)
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Value assessment of sustainability hotspots in conceptual design : an aerospace study.
- 2014
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nowadays, when designing structural aero-engine components, the engineering team does not only deal with aerodynamics and structural mechanics criteria. Rather, it needs to make more informed decisions based on the value and sustainability contribution of a design concept. This paper proposes a novel approach that combines qualitative sustainability assessment techniques, which are Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Strategic Sustainability Assessment (SSA), with Net Present Value (NPV) analysis to facilitate early stage decision-making in design. A case study, related to the development of a new high-temperature aero-engine component, illustrates how EIA and SSA identify sustainability hotspots for a new product technology, and how NPV is used to assess alternative solution strategies within the hotspot. Within the studied case, the milling process was identified as a sustainability hotspot, therefore two process options - Electro-Chemical Milling (ECM) and Mechanical Milling (MM) - where benchmarked by calculating their NPV in alternative future scenarios, featuring different market and regulatory assumptions. The approach and its constituting models have been preliminarily verified with designers and process owners in co-located industrial workshops.
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| 4. |
- Bratt, Cecilia, et al.
(författare)
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Assessment of criteria development for public procurement from a strategic sustainability perspective
- 2013
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 52, s. 309-316
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Green public procurement has emerged as a policy instrument with a significant potential to steer procurers' and producers' decisions in a sustainable direction. The purpose of this study is to assess the process for development of green public procurement criteria at a Swedish governmental expert body from a strategic sustainability perspective, i.e. to identify strengths and weaknesses from such a perspective as a basis for making this process more supportive of sustainable product and service innovation. A previously published framework for strategic sustainable development is used for the assessment. The assessment shows that the criteria development process is transparent, well-documented and that it encourages a high level of participation by the members of the working groups. However, the assessment also points to several weaknesses of the process. These include, e.g., a limited impact perspective and lack of a clear definition of sustainability objectives. The development process therefore results in criteria which mainly concern a selection of current environmental impacts outside the context of long-term objectives and consequently there are no strategies to prepare for future processes. The conclusion is that the current process may result in improvements as regards some known environmental problems, but to allow for a strategic approach that could more significantly promote innovative product-service system solutions in support of sustainable development, process changes are needed. Essential process changes are proposed in this paper.
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| 5. |
- Bratt, Cecilia, et al.
(författare)
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Assessment of Eco-labelling Criteria Development from a Strategic Sustainability Perspective
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 19:14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To turn current patterns of consumption and production in a sustainable direction, solid and understandable market information on the socio-ecological performance of products is needed. Eco-labelling programmes have an important role in this communication. The aim of this study is to investigate what gaps there may be in the current criteria development processes in relation to a strategic sustainability perspective and develop recommendations on how such presumptive gaps could be bridged. First a previously published generic framework for strategic sustainable development is described and applied for the assessment of two eco-labelling programmes. Data for the assessment is collected from literature and in semi-structured interviews and discussions with eco-labelling experts. The assessment revealed that the programmes lack both an operational definition of sustainability, and a statement of objectives to direct and drive the criteria development processes. Consequently they also lack guidelines for how product category criteria might gradually develop in any direction. The selected criteria mainly reflect the current reality based on a selection of negative impacts in ecosystems, but how this selection, or prioritization, is made is not clearly presented. Finally, there are no guidelines to ensure that the criteria developers represent a broad enough competence to embrace all essential sustainability aspects. In conclusion the results point at deficiencies in theory, process and practice of eco-labelling, which hampers cohesiveness, transparency and comprehension. And it hampers predictability, as producers get no support in foreseeing how coming revisions of criteria will develop. This represents a lost opportunity for strategic sustainable development. It is suggested that these problems could be avoided by informing the criteria development process by a framework for strategic sustainable development, based on backcasting from basic sustainability principles.
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| 6. |
- Bratt, Cecilia, et al.
(författare)
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Procurement as driver of sustainable product-service innovation
- 2012
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Current patterns of production and consumption need to change and they need to do so radically. For this shift sustainability-oriented product-services are highly potential contributors. Product-services have been described as a market proposition that extends the functionality of a product beyond the traditional view by inclusion of additional services into the product-service system. From a producer perspective this opens up for a differentiation from competitors and thereby for strategic market opportunities. For the customer this means the possibility to be released from responsibilities linked to asset ownership, more differentiated options and increased function availability .For society at large it means the possibility to gain sustainability achievements. However, the market adoption of product-services or functional products brings with it significant challenges. The demand side is still hesitant to ownerless consumption and the supply side faces economical and company culture-related challenges. The challenges also include customer-related challenges and the development of product-services will require joint efforts of a number of actors along the value chain, actors that traditionally have been outside the buyer-seller relationship. Product-services need to be developed on a case-by-case basis and involve the users perspective from initial need phase until end-of-life in a collaborative process that is not practice today. This paper explores the strategic position of a procurer in this development. It aims at providing guidelines for procurement processes on how to successively and systematically utilize its potential as drivers for sustainability-oriented product-service solutions. Three procurement cases are studied for which a movement from a traditional product-oriented process to a functional-oriented process was the selection criteria. These cases were used to gain a deepened understanding of drivers and barriers for function-oriented procurement processes. A template for sustainable product development is used as a base for the development. The result from the cases is used to adapt the guidelines to current procurement processes and to meet the procurers where they are today.
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| 7. |
- Franca, Cesar-Levy, et al.
(författare)
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Systematic Guidance for How to Integrate a Strategic Sustainability Perspective in Core Business Decision Systems
- 2009
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Engineering Design. ; , s. 385-396
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sustainability integration in core business and product development has been a challenge, even if many supporting methods, tools and concepts are available today. However, these are mainly focusing on specific environmental aspects and are often failing to serve companies in integrating sustainability thinking into their strategic decision processes, and consequently into their core business and product development. In this study a previous proposal for an approach to assessing the current state of sustainability integration in company decision systems was used at two case companies, ABB High Voltage Cables and Hammarplast AB. The purpose was to develop this approach further so that it can better assist decision makers (when initial assessment points to such gaps) to integrate sustainability thinking into the strategic decision processes, i.e. align vision, management system and tools to help prioritize actions in a backcasting plan for a sustainable company within a sustainable society. The developed approach includes a SWOT analysis supported strategic capability assessment, and genericguidelines for how to identify appropriate targets, which can also serve as a basis for development of indicators – all informed by a framework for strategic sustainable development.
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| 8. |
- Hallstedt, Sophie, et al.
(författare)
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A Decision Support Approach for Modeling Sustainability Consequences in an Aerospace Value Chain
- 2014
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Ingår i: PROCEEDINGS OF THE ASME INTERNATIONAL DESIGN ENGINEERING TECHNICAL CONFERENCES AND COMPUTERS AND INFORMATION IN ENGINEERING CONFERENCE, 2013, VOL 4. - : ASME Press. - 9780791855911
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Next generation jet engine technologies are typically driven by performance, value and environmental challenges, and appropriate technologies are developed in international research programs. One on-going engine component technology project at an aerospace component manufacturer aims to develop an engine with less fuel consumption. A likely consequence is higher pressure in the core engine, which leads to higher temperature. One way to handle the higher temperature is using a more advanced Ti-alloy for the product component, which will render a different sustainability profile. One weakness in current decision situations is the inability to clarify and understand the “value” and “sustainability” implications compared to e.g. performance features of concepts. Both “value” and “sustainability” include a rich set of features important for successful introduction of new products and product-service solutions to the market. The purpose with this research is to provide decision support for companies in early development phases for assessment of value and sustainability consequences over product-service system lifecycles. A workshop was held with the aerospace component manufacturer and a value chain partner focusing on material handling, to: i) get a better understanding of activities, flows and ownership related to the studied materials at the two companies, ii) to understand the companies’ perspective at new suggested scenarios with regard to these materials, and iii) define relevant scenarios to look into more in depth from asustainability and value perspective. Three different scenarios were developed with differences in ownership, responsibilities and value streams. It is therefore essential to be able to quickly assess and optimize consequences of such alternative scenarios. Based on the workshop experiences and scenarios, a modeling and simulation approach to assess sustainability and value consequences for the scenarios is proposed. The sustainability consequences are based on a sustainability life cycle assessment and a risk assessment. Key features of the proposed tool include: consideration of the time dimension, societal sustainability consequences, risk assessment, company value assessment, and cost/revenue perspectives.
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| 9. |
- Hallstedt, Sophie
(författare)
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A Foundation for Sustainable Product Development
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Product development is a particularly critical intervention point for the transformation of society towards sustainability. Current socio-ecological impacts over product life-cycles are evidence that current practices are insufficient. The aim of this thesis is to form a foundation for sustainable product development through the integration of a sustainability perspective into product development procedures and processes. Literature reviews and theoretical considerations as well as interviews, questionnaires, observations, testing and action research through case studies in various companies have indicated gaps in current methodology and have guided the development of a new general Method for Sustainable Product Development (MSPD). This method combines a framework for strategic sustainable development based on backcasting from basic sustainability principles with a standard concurrent engineering development model. A modular system of guiding questions, derived by considering the sustainability principles and the product life-cycle, is the key feature. Initial testing indicates that this MSPD works well for identification of sustainability problems as well as for generation of possible solutions. However, these tests also indicate that there is sometimes a desire for a quick overview of the sustainability performance of a specific product category. This is to guide early strategic decisions before the more comprehensive and detailed work with the MSPD is undertaken, or, alternatively, when an overview is sufficient to make decisions. In response, a Template for Sustainable Product Development (TSPD) approach is presented as a supplement to the MSPD. To generate products that support sustainable development of society it is necessary to combine sustainability assessments with improvements of technical product properties. An introductory procedure for such sustainability-driven design optimization is suggested based on a case study. For maximum efficiency of a company in finding viable pathways towards sustainability, it is also necessary to coordinate different methods and tools that are useful for sustainable product development and integrate them into the overall decision-making processes at different levels in companies. To find gaps in the sustainability integration in a company’s decision system, an assessment approach is suggested based on case studies. A general conclusion from this research is that the support needed for making sustainability-related decisions are not systematically integrated in companies today. However, this thesis also indicates that it is possible to create generic methods and tools that aid the integration of sustainability aspects in companies’ strategic decision-making and product development. These methods and tools can be used to guide the prioritization of investments and technical optimization on the increasingly sustainability-driven market, thus providing a foundation for competitive sustainable product development.
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| 10. |
- Hallstedt, Sophie, et al.
(författare)
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An approach to assessing sustainability integration in strategic decision systems for product development
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 18:8, s. 703-712
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article aims to explore a new approach to assess company decision systems regarding sustainability-related communication and decision support between senior management and product development levels. The assessment approach was developed in theory and its applicability was directly tested in action research in two small and medium-sized companies and two large companies. The results were validated against experiences made by two management consultancies. Our study indicates that successful companies should: (i) integrate sustainability into business goals and plans, backed up by suitable (ii) internal incentives and disincentives and (iii) decision support tools. Our study also indicates that the new assessment approach can be used as a template to assess the current state of sustainability integration in company decision systems.
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