Life-cycle design practices at three multinational companies

Life-cycle design (LCD), the application of life-cycle concepts to the design phase of product development, is emerging as a valuable tool for incorporating environmental impacts and trade-offs as a criterion in product/process design. Because LCD is used as an internal decision-support tool and customized to meet firm-specific needs, its strengths, successes, and limitations remain largely undocumented. An examination of LCD practices at three firms - IBM, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Armstrong World Industries - provides insights into how these methods evolve as well as a glimpse into the dynamics of organizational innovation in relation to corporate environmental management. Four ingredients are essential to initiating or sustaining a successful LCD program: (1) a pragmatic, flexible approach that avoids "analysis paralysis;" (2) program buy-in from multiple levels in the company; (3) supplier involvement to inform material and/or process decisions; and (4) including staff from various business functions to ensure that LCD is not merely another environmental initiative.