Challenges of Green Design--Fall 2008

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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Top Five Challenges for Developing Green Products
Challenge
High expense associated with developing new technologies that are green or
compliant
43%
Regulations differ widely according to regions and countries around the world 30%
Difficulty measuring unconventional ROI on green products 25%
Difficulty in understanding applicable regulations due to exemptions and
shortages of knowledgeable employees
24%
Greener materials and technologies require new and large capital
manufacturing investments
24%
Source: Aberdeen Group
% of All Respondents
DEALERS WANTED
Top Five Pressures Driving Green Product Development
Pressure
Developing green products part of corporate social responsibility initiative 37%
Green products offer greater competitive product differentiation 35%
Conscientious customers demand products that are more eco-friendly 28%
Compliance to green related regulations required for market entry 26%
Customers demand for products that use natural resources more efficiently 23%
Source: Aberdeen Group
% of All Respondents
‘going green’ in their everyday life is simply
not a big concern or a high priority,”
says Smith.
A mere 13 percent of those surveyed
by Yankelovich, says Smith, are “strongly
concerned” about the environment, while
less than a quarter believe they can make
a difference.
And while Al Gore’s An Inconvenient
Truth received widespread acclaim from
the media and members of the scientific
community, less than 20 percent of consumers
saw the movie or read the book,
say Yankelovich findings.
Some may argue that the current economic
crisis is distracting consumers from
just about every other issue under the sun,
including the environment. But no matter
the reasons, such results already are raising
questions about the potential bottomline
benefits that can be derived from
investing in socially responsible product
development. Unless consumers begin to
change their tune, one has to wonder how
much patience American manufactures
will show toward green investments outside
of regulatory-driven necessities.
Not that all hope is lost, by any means.
In its sixth annual report on the carbon
footprints of Global 500 companies, the
Carbon Disclosure Project, a not-for-profit
organization that acts as an intermediary
between shareholders and corporations on
climate change-related issues, argues that
some companies confirmed billions of dollars
in savings as a result of sustainability
efforts in operations and packaging.
Even within the seemingly pessimistic
Yankelovich study, Smith makes the point
that despite “most consumers’ lukewarm
attitudes toward green,” companies that
successfully convey the benefits of green
attributes in a product can make those attributes
a key feature in the buying decision
of consumers who are just moderately
concerned about climate change and the
environment. That could include all but
the 29 percent of consumers described by
Yankelovich as “Greenless,” or unmoved
by environmental issues and alarms.
Possibly most encouraging of all, Aberdeen
researchers found a direct correlation
between the length of time a company
has been pursuing a green strategy and
the level of success in generating a positive
return from it. So companies that have
had the opportunity to figure out what
does and does not work well earlier than
their manufacturer peers are dramatically
more likely to hit launch dates, stick within
budgets and minimize price increases.
That seems to suggest that if manufacturers
continue to push on, the premium
price paid for greener products eventually
goes away. And at that point, the need
to change consumer behavior becomes
much less of a factor.
In the long term, eco-friendly product
development could have a bright future.
But that’s assuming manufacturers of all
types can be persuaded to show patience,
seeing how, in the nearer term, as we
have said before, things likely get harder
before they get easier.
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Fall 2008 | InsideOutdoor | 39