“A Maturity Model for Sustainability in New Product Development” was published in the January-February issues of the Research-Technology Management (RTM) journal. The article is the culmination of work from an Industrial Research Institute (IRI) research-on-research (ROR) project to develop a maturity model and assessment tool that enables organizations to assess their sustainability practices during new product development (NPD). The assessment tool can help organizations leverage sustainability in their new product development and gain competitive advantage. ECD Compliance (with support provided by Intertek) had the opportunity to contribute to the development of the maturity model in 2012 and 2013.
The maturity model considers sustainability performance attributes in 14 dimensions which have been organized into two groups: Strategy Dimensions and Design Tools Dimensions. For each of the dimensions attributes were identified at four different maturity levels: Beginning, Improving, Succeeding, and Leading.
Strategy Dimensions
- Corporate Sustainability Policy
- Overall Sustainability Strategy
- Government Policy & Regulation
- Impact of Trends
- Supply Chain (CSR)
- Green labeling
- Sustainability Design for Environment (DfE)
Design Tools Dimensions
- Specifications/Customer Insights
- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Process
- DfE–Material and Part Selection
- DfE–Supply Chain
- DfE–Manufacturing Impact
- DfE–Use Phase Impact
- DfE–End of Life Impact
The article authors are: Jeff Hynds, Virginia Brandt, Susan Burek, Walter Jager, Peter Knox, Jamie Pero Parker, Lawrence Schwartz, John Taylor, and Miriam Zietlow.
For additional information, the RTM journal is available from the IRI website or contact us on implementing sustainability practices.