Management of Environmental New Product Development

Abstract

Acceleration of the search for environmental excellence is done by managing a 'holy trinity of challenges': Public credibility, money making and new product development. New products are an important part of environmental marketing, and the focus of environmental new product development (NPD) must be in improving the primary and environmental performance of a product rather than merely introducing cosmetic changes. Companies should regard the introduction of environmental NPD as a process-oriented change in the mental attitude of a business and in the way things are done in that business, embedded in the process of product innovation. W. Coddington explains that, in developing environmental new product concepts, three sets of issues must be addressed. They are concept issues; pipeline issues; and strategic issues. Management must adopt a broader perspective of a product's characteristics when addressing environmental issues, and examining the complete life-cycle impact.