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The Environmental Product Life Cycle: Environmentally Friendly Design
Written by Matthew Eastwood, originally published February 2007
Executive Summary
Environmental awareness continues to rise, and customers of all types – consumer, SMB, and enterprise are realizing that the IT products they acquire and use on a daily basis need to be designed with a different set of criteria in mind. In addition to the environmental concerns critical to the global marketplace, there are some very real business considerations that must be addressed. IT users expect reduced operating costs as well as more predictable disposal costs at the end of the product life cycle. Creative product design is the first step in a product life-cycle strategy with the goal of developing environmentally friendly products for customers of all types. For a graphical depiction of the product life cycle stages, see Figure 1.
FIGURE 1
HP Approach to Reducing Environmental Impacts and Engaging Stakeholders Across the Product Life Cycle
Background
Although creative environmental design can be approached in many ways, the goal is quite simple: addressing environmental factors in the design, manufacture, and use of products. While environmental considerations have always been part of the design process, environmental awareness continues to become a more pressing imperative; as a result, the concept has become more important for IT users of all types. The goal is simple in concept, but successfully executing an effective environmental design program can be quite complex. This brief looks at how HP approaches its goal of environmental design and manufacturing without compromising other customer requirements, such as quality, reliability, and price.
