Business benefits from applied EcoDesign

This paper describes the application of EcoDesign (environmentally conscious design) within the electronics manufacturing company Philips. How the process has matured from a case-by-case basis driven by single persons to becoming a standard part of the product creation process of most of the Philips' business units. Since it was first introduced, the EcoDesign process has gone through many changes, not only to deal with influences from the outside world such as regulation and voluntary industrial agreements but more importantly, to allow alignment with existing business procedures and business direction. The scope of the process has widened beyond the product to now include also the supply chain, the end of life and consumer behavior. This also means a much closer cooperation with stakeholders beyond the product developer; it also involves the purchasing department, market research and dialogue with recycling industry. One of the key processes supporting the EcoDesign process is environmental product benchmarking, comparing the Philips product with its direct commercial competitors. As the EcoDesign process, also this activity has matured over time, allowing more product benchmarks over time and at the same time improving the quality of the results. The results are now visible in examples of green marketing and communication as the Philips Consumer Electronics Internet site now displays examples of Green Flagship products. Furthermore, the benchmarking activity is now also used to provide valuable information on OEM products, and monitoring how competition is backing up claims related to their products' environmental performance. It is not surprising that in its recently revealed new environmental program, Philips again shows commitment to keep a focus on applying EcoDesign and more environmental product benchmarking.