Going for green
13 November, London
 Public, government and business pressure to create
a more sustainable society continues to grow. The
benefits of producing environmentally friendly products
will be discussed at the Green product design
workshop, organised jointly by SCI and the Chemistry
Innovation Knowledge Transfer Network. It takes place
on 13 November 2006.
‘The price of inaction
is not just to miss out
on these markets but to
risk being outflanked by
competitors’
The chemical industry faces many
challenges to reduce its environmental footprint and
improve the safety of its products and operations.
Regulators are setting ever-tighter limits and legislation
requires more data to support products in use. Customers
in the diverse markets the industry serves are increasingly
likely to specify or prohibit products, in part reflecting
the pressures on them from a more eco-conscious
public. On a wider level, market drivers, such as climate
change and the need for a more sustainable society, have
gained broad acceptance.
Traditionally, the response of the chemical industry
has been to view these challenges as a problem, yet
another cost to bear. Over the past five to 10 years there
has been a major change in thinking and many leading
chemical companies — for example, DuPont and BASF
— have made significant public statements that put
sustainability at the heart of their strategies. They
recognise that adopting new ways of thinking about
their products offers a means of differentiation and
brand positioning.
Green product design can be defined as ‘designing
a product or service to reduce overall environmental
impact while maintaining, or improving, economic,
technical and social performance’. This is not all about
tweaking current products to anticipate the next round
of legislation, but incorporating environmental considerations
in the design process from the outset to make
products that are better. Inherent in this approach is
the need to adopt a lifecycle view to product design,
and therefore to involve supply chain partners in the
process. This presents a particular challenge for the
chemical industry, which historically has often not had
strong links with downstream users of its products.
The business opportunity is substantial. The
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development estimates that the worldwide market for
environmental products and services will increase from
$300bn in 2000 to around $550bn in 2010. Environmental
small business investor Shell Springboard, for example,
estimates the UK market for CO2 mitigation at £3.5bn
($6.5bn). The price of inaction is not just to miss out on
these markets but to risk being outflanked by competitors
who are prepared to rise to these challenges.
SCI, in partnership with the Chemistry Innovation
Knowledge Transfer Network (CIKTN), is hosting a green
product design workshop at Belgrave Square in London
on 13 November 2006. The event will provide a practical introduction
to green product design, outlining the benefits
this approach can bring.
Through a mixture of expert tutorials, real-life case
studies from international business and practical exercises,
delegates will learn what green product design is
and how to apply it in their businesses.
The tutorials will be supported by case studies from
Martin Goosey of Loughborough University (formerly of
Rohm & Haas) and John Wright from ICI Paints.
John Whittall
CIKTN |
