5 minutes read: OpEd “Sustainability starts with Design” + The Green Link Ecosystem Alliance’s new CSRD specialist Sustain It Right.
Op-Ed_
Sustainability starts with Design
As part of the Sustainability course our CEO & co-founder Bernard Lebelle delivered to EDHEC Business School students of the Master in Global Sustainable Business, we shared our proprietary Sustainability Strategy Framework whose 1st foundational building block is DESIGN.
Why? Because when you zoom out, you can see that the entire environmental footprint of a company derives from the very design of the product or services it delivers. And we believe this is a more powerful starting point than just Scope 1 or 2 approach as Scope 3 is embedded in the very design of product or services.
Back in 2018, Apple took a bold decision to pre-order tons of carbon-free aluminum from a joint Rio Tinto & Alcoa venture that was yet to be built – more details available here .
Why? Because Apple understood that by rethinking the design of its products, it could greatly reduce its environmental footprint.
Now what are other industry leaders doing to foster sustainability by design?
1/ Whirlpool Corporation is challenging energy consumption in the kitchen by design.
Whirlpool Corporation‘s latest innovation, SlimTech insulation, exemplifies green product design, enhancing refrigerators by significantly boosting their efficiency and capacity. SlimTech utilizes a slender layer of proprietary, compressed powder within steel walls, presenting a vacuum insulation method that revolutionizes traditional refrigeration technology.
The application of SlimTech results in refrigerator doors that are 60% slimmer, thereby expanding internal storage space by 25%. Additionally, optimizing SlimTech’s thickness can lead to a remarkable 50% reduction in energy consumption through improved temperature regulation.
This approach not only reflects the best practices of green design—such as life cycle consideration and product environmental footprint reduction—but also aligns with strategies for sustainable product design by minimizing material use and maximizing energy efficiency.
By implementing SlimTech, Whirlpool Corporation Corporation is setting a precedent in eco-friendly innovation, potentially reducing environmental impact throughout the product’s life cycle and leading the industry towards a more sustainable future.
More on this innovation here.
2/ Unilever shares with competitors new re-designed ice cream formulations that require less cold storage temperature.
In a bold and unconventional step,Unilever has made a decision to share its proprietary ice cream reformulation patents with competitors. This unprecedented move involves granting a free non-exclusive license for 12 patents to the ice cream industry.
This initiative came on the heels ofUnilever’ssuccessful trials that allowed for ice cream to be stored at -12°C, higher than the standard -18°C, thereby promising a significant reduction in energy consumption for freezer cabinets globally.
The sharing of these patents is designed to encourage the entire industry to embrace more energy-efficient practices. Unilever’s strategy aims to create a ripple effect, prompting a collective effort to address climate change by lowering emissions within the cold chain.
This cooperative approach signals a shift in industry dynamics, where competitive advantage is aligned with a commitment to environmental sustainability.
More on this bold launch here: https://www.unilever.com/news/press-and-media/press-releases/2023/unilever-to-share-reformulation-patents-with-ice-cream-industry-to-tackle-freezer-emissions/
3/ Embed Sustainability by Design in your own company
Both Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and McKinsey & Company have previously covered the need to Design for Sustainability. One of the most interesting executive summary we found was Exhibit #2: Six Sustainable-Design Strategies from BCG’s article.
The full list of these 6 strategies include:
1. Dematerialization
2. Next-Best Material Selection
3. Green Supply Chain
4. Longevity and Effective Usage
5. Product Efficiency
6. Circularity
There are others really interesting insights to leverage from their publications if you’re looking for additional arguments to bring this strategy to the C-Suite agenda:
- BCG: Six Strategies for Designing Sustainable Products – Link: https://www.bcg.com/publications/2023/six-strategies-to-lead-product-sustainability-design
- McKinsey: Product sustainability: Back to the drawing board – Link: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/operations/our-insights/product-sustainability-back-to-the-drawing-board
Tackling the CSRD reporting challenges
We are extremely proud of introducing to our readers the first member of The Green Link Ecosystem Alliance: Sustain It Right – a laser-focus specialist on CSRD.
Founded by Marc Escande , Sustain it Right is a unique SaaS platform enabling a safe and efficient journey towards full CSRD compliance and building in-house foundations for lasting Sustainability Leadership.
To help everyone kick it off with maximum efficiency, quality and speed, Sustain It Right is pleased to provide a free access (no registration required) to the latest version of its ESRS Navigator
To access it, go to https://lnkd.in/evvV9npT, then select “Analyze ESRS” under the “CSRD” menu. You can also access it straight via https://lnkd.in/eqDsstZd and get a preview in this short video: https://lnkd.in/ekDNp5ST (no audio).
In Marc own’s words: “This free tool can be instrumental in making your entire organization more CSRD savvy, thereby fostering individual contributions and eventually turning the CSRD into an instrument for ESG transformation, extending beyond compliance and accelerating the journey towards sustainability excellence.”
