Eco-efficient value creation

It is widely recognised that sustainability is a major issue in the long term development of products and services. Drastic reduction of pollution and use of materials is required to preserve our mother nature, and share our quality of life with the poor people of our world and with future generations. The growth of the world population emphasises the need for a new approach. From the Brundtland report: "what we need now is an era of economic growth, growth that is forceful and at the same time socially and environmentally sustainable". For products and services, sustainability is no optional extra, but a prerequisite for success in competitive future markets. The challenge is clear, but putting it into practice is not easy. How do you design products for the sustainable future? How do you have to shape your company and make it fit for the coming decades? What are de do's and the don'ts? How do you avoid the common pitfalls of being too costly, having the wrong marketing approach, and making the wrong investment decisions? This is where Eco-efficient Value Creation comes in. The book shows how designers and engineers can contribute to the required shift towards sustainability and what this means to product portfolio strategies of companies. The way towards sustainability requires a 'double objective' for the designer of new products. Designers must create products with lower eco-costs, and at the same time higher value (a higher market price). This book gives many practical design cases, and shows how to develop a sustainable business strategy.