Approach for Integration of Sustainability Aspects into Innovation Processes

The growing awareness for sustainable products and production is changing the business environment, forcing companies to revise the way they think about products, technologies, processes, and business models. The contribution of technical innovations to sustainable development needs to be systematically examined in the early stages of product development. The development of a systematic approach, which integrates sustainability aspects in the product development, is necessary. Scenario-technique offers an adequate method for catalyzing innovation processes towards sustainable development. This paper introduces a case, which illustrates how an analysis of remanufacturing technologies, using scenario-technique, can help to identify drivers for sustainability.

[1]  H. Schwarzwald.  Theorie des Geldes und der Umlaufsmittel. Von Ludwig von Mises. Leipzig, Duncker & Humblot. 1912 , 1913 .

[2]  Vincent R. Gray.  Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis Summary for Policymakers , 2007 .

[3]  J. Schumpeter.  Theorie der wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung , 1913 .

[4]  Alexander Fink,et al.  Scenario Management: An Approach to Develop Future Potentials , 1998 .

[5]  O. Edenhofer,et al.  Mitigation from a cross-sectoral perspective , 2007 .

[6]  H. Kahn,et al.  The Year 2000: A Framework for Speculation on the Next Thirty-Three Years, , 1967 .

[7]  Robert G. Cooper,et al.  Perspective: The Stage‐Gate® Idea‐to‐Launch Process—Update, What's New, and NexGen Systems* , 2008 .

[8]  G. Seliger,et al.  Product Innovation – Industrial Approach , 2001 .

[9]  N. Stern.  The Economics of Climate Change: Implications of Climate Change for Development , 2007 .

[10]  Cornelius Herstatt,et al.  Management der frühen Innovationsphasen : Grundlagen-Methoden-neue Ansätze , 2007 .

[11]  E. Rogers.  Diffusion of Innovations , 1962 .

[12]  N. Stern.  What is the Economics of Climate Change , 2006 .

[13]  C. Lang-Koetz,et al.  Abschätzung von Umweltwirkungen in frühen Phasen des Produktinnovationsprozesses , 2006 .

[14]  G. Finnveden,et al.  Scenario types and techniques: Towards a user's guide , 2006 .

[15]  V. Daniel R. Guide,et al.  OR FORUM - The Evolution of Closed-Loop Supply Chain Research , 2009, Oper. Res..

[16]  H J Parkinson,et al.  Analysis and taxonomy of remanufacturing industry practice , 2003 .

[17]  M. Seitz.  A critical assessment of motives for product recovery: the case of engine remanufacturing , 2007 .