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Sustainable Product Design and Development
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Sustainable Product Design and Development

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Engineering and Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2022) | Viewed by 14458

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Glenn Johansson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Design Sciences, Faculty of Engineering (LTH), Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Interests: efficient and effective product development; design for sustainability and circularity; integrated product and production development; intra- and inter-organizational collaboration; product-service systems development
Prof. Dr. Sophie I. Hallstedt

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Strategic Sustainable Development, Faculty of Engineering, Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH), Karlskrona, Sweden
Interests: sustainable product development process; decision support in early engineering design; socio-ecological sustainability; sustainability integration and implementation; risk and requirement management; portfolio development; design for social sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on the current state-of-the-art and state-of-practice in the field of sustainable product design and development. Research in the field gained momentum in the early 1990s, and several tools/techniques aimed at supporting product design and development teams to consider sustainability issues have been proposed. Issues related to motives and barriers, design and development processes, organizational structures, project management, decision support, etc. have also been addressed. Still, the impact of sustainable product design and development on industrial activities is rather limited. The structure and content of teaching in product design and development may be one contingency factor that influences the adoption of sustainable product design and development in industry, because graduated students and others bring new ideas and knowledge to industry. Other factors which may influence the adoption are trends such as the shift towards a circular economy and increased digitalization and electrification, which create contingencies that companies must consider. Another factor may be related to customers’ awareness and appreciation of the potential value and benefits of sustainable products. Therefore, given the current contingencies, this Special Issue aims at advancing our understanding of how sustainability becomes an intrinsic part of companies’ product design and development activities, on both strategic and operational levels. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: product design and development for circular business models, sustainable product design and development in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), integration of sustainability with lean or agile product development, sustainability in early product design and development, industrial experiences from implementing product design and development, impacts of digitalization and electrification on sustainable product design and development, design for sustainable behavior, and teaching in sustainable product design and development.

Articles based on solid theoretical foundations and diverse research methods are welcome, including case studies, surveys, and literature reviews. Articles presenting novel and ground-breaking conceptual ideas on how sustainable product design and development may penetrate industry to a higher degree may also be considered.  

Prof. Dr. Glenn Johansson
Prof. Dr. Sophie I. Hallstedt
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • design for circular economy
  • product design and development in SMEs
  • early product design and development
  • industrial experiences
  • sustainability implementation in product design and development
  • impacts of digitalization and electrification
  • sustainable behavior
  • teaching sustainable product design and development

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 5017 KiB  
Article
Co-Creating a Framework to Integrate Sustainable Design into Product Development Practice: Case Study at an Engineering Consultancy Firm
by Tejaswini Chatty, Will Harrison, Hana H. Ba-Sabaa, Jeremy Faludi and Elizabeth L. Murnane
Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9740; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159740 - 8 Aug 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3990
Abstract
There is a growing recognition of the need to incorporate sustainability considerations early-on in the product development (PD) process (PDP). As part of a case study at an engineering consultancy firm, this paper identifies considerations that influence the integration of sustainable design practices [...] Read more.
There is a growing recognition of the need to incorporate sustainability considerations early-on in the product development (PD) process (PDP). As part of a case study at an engineering consultancy firm, this paper identifies considerations that influence the integration of sustainable design practices into real-world PD practices. This is informed by the first author becoming embedded in the firm as an intern, and closely observing the PD workflow across various projects, conducting interviews and group discussions with a wide range of practitioners, and iteratively designing and testing various potential interventions. From the literature and observations, we find that designers and engineers often struggle to identify and apply the right sustainable design methods and tools (SDMTs) to tackle the environmental impacts associated with their products. Through a human-centered design process, we co-created a reusable, modular framework of practices that aids the selection of relevant strategies, based on the environmental hotspots, stage of the PD process, and the client’s sustainability priorities. Our prominent findings highlight the importance of: (a) co-creation in enhancing receptivity and retention, (b) the use of LCA iteratively to inform design decisions throughout PD, and (c) sharing case studies of successful application of the framework to promote sustainable design among employees and clients, alongside several other takeaways. The paper further presents insights related to the framework’s real-world application and impacts in the firm, based on results of longitudinal engagement with the firm. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Product Design and Development)
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21 pages, 305 KiB  
Article
Social Sustainability Work in Product Development Organizations: An Empirical Study of Three Sweden-Based Companies
by Patricia Lagun Mesquita and Merlina Missimer
Sustainability 2021, 13(4), 1986; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13041986 - 12 Feb 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2681
Abstract
Companies responsible for product development (PD) and manufacturing play an important role in supporting society in achieving sustainability, and yet they do not always include full sustainability considerations in PD decisions. The social dimension of sustainability has been largely neglected in the PD [...] Read more.
Companies responsible for product development (PD) and manufacturing play an important role in supporting society in achieving sustainability, and yet they do not always include full sustainability considerations in PD decisions. The social dimension of sustainability has been largely neglected in the PD field and there is very little empirical evidence of social sustainability implementation in general. The aim of this paper is to investigate how social sustainability is currently included in PD organizations and what their motivations are to do so. Results from a comparative case study approach with three organizations include rich descriptions across four dimensions: The scope of the work and their view of interdependencies with other social systems, their definition of social sustainability and the issues they work with, what guides strategic decisions, and how this internal work is structured. The results reveal that the three product development organizations are heterogenous in their approaches to social sustainability and that the more advanced approach shows a better understanding of the complexity of social sustainability and a broader perspective of its interdependencies, which goes hand-in-hand with a way of organizing that overcomes traditional hierarchies and allows for more collaborative and strategic work in this area. This systems perspective also drives what issues are included in an organization’s work; scope and definition of social sustainability become more encompassing and aligned. Finally, our study shows that social sustainability impacts connected to products’ lifecycles, when addressed, are done so by functions outside design activities, as opposed to product developers. A greater understanding of how companies currently approach social sustainability and what challenges they might face in integrating it in organizational and design related practices has been called for; our paper contributes to this but acknowledges that more work is needed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Product Design and Development)
20 pages, 1694 KiB  
Article
Strategic Sustainability Risk Management in Product Development Companies: Key Aspects and Conceptual Approach
by Jesko Schulte, Carolina Villamil and Sophie I. Hallstedt
Sustainability 2020, 12(24), 10531; https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410531 - 16 Dec 2020
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 5993
Abstract
Society’s transition towards sustainability comes with radical change, which entails significant threats and opportunities for product development and manufacturing companies, for example related to new legislation, shifting customer preferences, and increasing raw material prices. Smart risk management therefore plays a key role for [...] Read more.
Society’s transition towards sustainability comes with radical change, which entails significant threats and opportunities for product development and manufacturing companies, for example related to new legislation, shifting customer preferences, and increasing raw material prices. Smart risk management therefore plays a key role for successfully maneuvering society’s sustainability transition. However, from a company perspective, it remains challenging to connect the macro-level societal change with tangible risks for the business on the micro level. Based on interviews with academic and industrial experts, this study identified 21 key aspects for sustainability risk management. Drawing on these results and research from the areas of transition design, strategic sustainable development, and sustainability risk management, a conceptual approach for strategic risk management within the sustainability transition is presented. It builds on layered, double-flow scenario modelling in which backcasting from a vision, framed by basic principles for sustainability, is combined with forecasting from the present. The implications of such scenarios, i.e., risks, can then be identified and managed. By doing so on different scales, connections between macro- and micro-level change can be established. Thereby, product development companies shall be supported in making sustainability an intrinsic part of decision-making across the strategic, tactical, and operational levels to increase competitiveness while contributing to the transition towards a sustainable society. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Product Design and Development)
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