With a greater focus on sustainability throughout supply chains and increased consumer awareness of eco performance from brands, it is more important than ever to support sustainability through innovation. Sophie Weston, channel marketing manager at Geberit, explores the role of global sustainability goals in shaping product innovation and reducing environmental impact.
Increased legislation and greater consumer awareness is changing the face of sustainability. What used to be a buzzword has now become a key pillar for businesses of all sizes; a way to stand out in competitive markets.
There is already legislation in place to drive sustainability, of course. However, whilst regulatory change and corporate initiatives such as the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals have been in place for a number of years, the emphasis has shifted in recent times thanks to consumer pressure too.
Buoyed by major campaigns and television shows such as David Attenborough’s Blue Planet, attitudes have intensified. Consumers are more aware and more proactive in their actions towards global waste and climate change – and those of their chosen brands. IBM research shows nearly six in ten of us are willing to change their shopping habits to reduce environmental impact and nearly eight in ten respondents said sustainability is important for them.
Sustainability in product design
At Geberit, we believe that sustainability starts with product design. By placing sustainability at the heart of design, factoring in everything from raw materials and production processes to packaging and recyclability, manufacturers can help to drive sustainable performance throughout the entire supply chain.
All of our products are developed in line with eco-design principles, ensuring that each product is better than its predecessor from an ecological perspective, without sacrificing on quality, functionality or durability. Eco-design covers all stages of the life cycle, taking into account the best raw materials, the right suppliers, local production and green logistics, in order to develop products that are made to last, repairable and recyclable.
In addition to selecting the most suitable materials and the continuous search for environmentally friendly alternatives and resource-saving design, we believe it is vital that products offer outstanding durability. Our solutions can be maintained, cleaned and repaired easily, but critically they are also backwards-compatible, which means older products can be enhanced with the addition of new components and functions.
These aspects play a decisive role in minimising the use of energy and resources, increasing the service life and useful life of the products, as well as closing material cycles. All key factors in driving more sustainable societies.
Long-term look
Good sustainable performance used to be a ‘nice to do’ but it is now a requirement of success, promoted by governments and demanded by consumers worldwide. Leading manufacturers should view product development process through the entire life-cycle – and we must all work in partnership to look beyond the obvious and consider the value of sustainable performance at every stage of the supply chain.