The financial sector plays an important yet ambivalent role in society's sustainability transition. Credit decisions have a substantialimpact as they determine the allocation of large amounts of financial resources. This study applies the Frameworkfor Strategic Sustainable Development as a lens to review literature and investigate practices in Nordic banks on sustainabilityconsiderations in corporate credit risk assessment. Three gaps and recommendations are presented: (i) banks should apply asystems perspective that goes beyond a narrow focus on climate change to avoid sub-optimisation;(ii) strategies like inclusionand exclusion should be informed by backcasting from basic sustainability principles to foresee the long-termdirection of changeand to assess whether solutions are scalable towards sustainability; and (iii) instead of asking whether it ‘pays to be sustainable’,research and practice should focus on ‘how’ companies can work strategically with sustainability, finding the optimal timingbetween being too passive and too proactive.

This chapter addresses the importance of designing sustainable and circular solutions that can also foster changes in user behaviour. A transition towards sustainability partly depends on consumers changing their behaviours and, in some instances, consuming less. It also requires different types of products that form part of more circular production and consumption systems, or work in emerging “bottom-of-the-pyramid” market contexts, so that human needs can be met with a much lighter ecological footprint. Sustainable product development means that social and ecological sustainability considerations are integrated throughout the design process. By applying strategic thinking, step-wise solutions can be identified that contribute to sustainable development in ways that benefit the own organization, thereby creating positive change and momentum for further action. This holistic approach involves anticipating sustainability-related consequences early in the innovation process, which is critical for minimizing socio-ecological impacts. By focusing on a product’s full life cycle rather than traditional performance metrics, companies can align their development practices with environmental and social responsibilities and cease opportunities on increasingly sustainability-driven markets. For those working in marketing and product development, training to think and act strategically in relation to sustainability is essential to prevent humanity from being overwhelmed by its own consumption.

Decisions made in early phases of the product innovation process heavily influence the sustainability performance of a product. This study presents a literature review of approaches for assessing product sustainability performance in early phases and identifies and analyses six main challenges and opportunities from a strategic sustainability perspective: (i) finding the right combination between qualitative and quantitative approaches; (ii) avoiding reductionism; (iii) managing trade-offs; (iv) conceptualizing and defining sustainability; (v) thinking strategically; and (vi) considering both negative and positive impacts. The review also found that the terms assess, evaluate, and measure are all used in relation to sustainability performance. Based on an analysis of semantics and etymology, the study describes differences between the terms and how they should be used, arguing that assess and evaluate are more suitable when describing sustainability performance, while measure can be used in relation to indicators that can form part of an assessment or evaluation.

The aim of this research is to explore if and how digitalization and a game-based approach can improve the usability and implementation of sustainable design methods and tools in a product development process. Based on semi-systematic literature review, advantages and limitations of digitalization and game-based approaches in this context were identified. A previously developed method that guides the implementation of a strategic sustainability perspective in product portfolio development, was then selected and elements of digitalization and game-based approaches were incorporated in its four building blocks: double-flow scenario modeling, sustainability assessment, market success assessment, and portfolio development. The resulting prototype of this method was further adapted after feedback gathered through expert interviews and then tested in workshops with industry and academia. It was found that digitalization was especially useful for the scenario simulation, data management, and automatic visualization of results, while the benefits of the game-based approach were enhanced motivation, collaboration, and co-design of results and solutions. At the same time, drawbacks were discovered, for example related to decreased transparency of how results are calculated, overuse of visualization and extrinsic rewards, leading to lack of clarity and trust in the results. In conclusion, there are synergies between digitalization and game-based approaches that can improve the usability of sustainable design methods and tools, but extensive testing is recommended to avoid pitfalls that can lead to opposite effects. Moreover, recommendations were identified for how to include digitalization and a game-based approach, for example, to enable integration with other tools, maintenance and constant update, to explore the benefits of team-based assessments and collaboration, to add diversity and customization, and to link the game to the user's context, application, expectations and requirements.

In the EU, initiatives with concrete instruments for measuring and storing sustainability-related product data are now introduced in legislation. Based on literature review and semi-structured interviews, this study investigates two EU instruments, the Product Environmental Footprint method and Digital Product Passports, and their potential implications for company capabilities to design and select more sustainable solutions in a strategic way. The results show that these instruments can lead to increased transparency and traceability in the design and comparison of solutions, allowing for more effective collaboration across the value chain. By applying a strategic sustainability perspective, it was found that these EU instruments have major limitations as they lack a systems perspective, do not include a full socio-ecological sustainability perspective, and do not support strategic decision-making. This results in risks for suboptimization and the design of solutions that turn out to be costly dead-ends on the way towards a sustainable society. Research is therefore recommended to investigate how these instruments can facilitate a strategic development of sustainable solutions. © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press.

Sustainability has shifted from strategically important to business critical for several manufacturing industries. This paper introduces an implementation framework to increase the capabilities in companies to design, develop and offer sustainable product- and production solutions in line with new regulatory strategies and plans. Based on a questionnaire survey, conducted in ten different product development companies representing different industrial sectors, the status and needs of sustainable product development were captured. Further on, a better understanding of the capabilities for a forthcoming digital sustainable product development support, were identified in an action research-based approach with three industrial companies. This paper presents the rational of a digital sustainable product development support, in relation to global sustainability goals and societal dimensions of sustainability transitions. The main results from the questionnaire presents the challenges and needs of capabilities for product developers and design engineers to develop more sustainable solutions in a resource efficient way. The action-based research with the three industrial manufacturing partners resulted in a set of common key activities and detailed requirements for a digital sustainable product development support. Finally, the paper describes a first prototype of a digital platform, i.e. Digital Sustainability Implementation Package-DSIP, and discusses future work. © Proceedings of NordDesign 2022: How Product and Manufacturing Design Enable Sustainable Companies and Societies.

Integrating a strategic sustainability perspective in product development requires that decision-makers can connect socio-ecological sustainability aspects to tangible business implications in the short- and long term. Only then will there be the driving forces necessary for adopting sustainable product development practices. A risk management approach can be used to enable strategic proactivity by exposing the potential consequences of sustainability-related decisions, for example in relation to reputation, legislative change, the ability to attract top talent, or meeting customer needs. Through an action research approach and by building on previous findings and existing tools and methods, this study presents the Sustainability Impact and Effects Analysis. This novel method and risk management tool combines the familiar format of the well-established Failure Mode and Effects Analysis with a strategic sustainability perspective. Designed to be applicable in early stages of the product innovation process, this tool aims to increase decision-makers’ awareness of sustainability risks and provide them with a practical way for how to identify, assess, and treat such risks. The tool was developed in close collaboration with industry and tested in two different companies. The results indicate the effectiveness of the tool for identifying and analyzing sustainability risks, as well as deriving and monitoring strategies for how to manage them strategically, also leading to an increased awareness of the interconnections between socio-ecological sustainability aspects and business implications. Thereby, it can provide support for companies in how to work with product development in a way that contributes to society's transition towards sustainability, while benefiting the own organization. © 2022 The Authors

Companies need to strategically develop their portfolio and find the balance between being proactive and passive in relation to sustainability. In this study, a strategic perspective based on backcasting from overarching socio-ecological sustainability principles was used as a lens to understand how companies might adapt their product portfolios to avoid threats and exploit opportunities on increasingly sustainability-driven markets. The study shows that sustainability performance, market success, and time are key areas to be considered in the product portfolio process to ensure short-term profitability and long-term competitiveness. A novel method was developed and tested in one academic group and two companies to explore how such a strategic sustainability perspective can support the product portfolio process in practice. The results indicate that the strategic layered double-flow scenario method, including different time horizons, was supportive in identifying opportunities and avoid risks in the sustainable development process at the company.

Fire and explosion accidents of oil-filled electrical transformers are leading to negativeimpacts, not only on the delivery of energy, but also on workplace health and safety as well asthe surrounding environment. Such accidents are still being reported, regardless of applying theregular maintenance strategy in the power plants. The purpose of this paper is to integrate asustainability perspective into the maintenance strategy. The problem addressed is: how can weapproach the relevant cost-effective sustainable maintenance for oil-filled electrical transformers?For this purpose, an empirical study in a power plant in Kuwait was introduced. The first stagewas to carry out a sustainability assessment using the ABCD procedure. In this procedure, gaps toapproach sustainability were identified and actions prioritized to close these gaps were demonstrated.Applying this procedure yielded an early fault diagnosis (EFD) model for achieving cost-effectivesustainable maintenance using a fault trend chart based on a novel numerical method. Implementingthis model resulted in an extension of the lifetime of transformers with suspected failure propagation,leading to a deferral of the replacement investment costs. The principal conclusion of this paper isthe importance of viewing the maintenance strategy of transformers from a strategic sustainabilityperspective, in order to approach relevant cost-effective sustainable maintenance.

Society’s transition towards a sustainable state entails rapid and disruptive change in all sectors. This change is the source of profound uncertainty. From a company perspective, it can either pose existential threats if current practices or products enforce unsustainable development, or it can present opportunities if the company can provide solutions to the sustainability challenges humanity is facing. Such sustainability-related threats and opportunities, i.e., risks, can be related to, for example, reputation, legislative change, litigation, the ability to attract and retain talented employees, or the ability to meet customer needs on increasingly sustainability-driven markets. While more and more companies recognize the importance of building capabilities for sustainable product development to remain competitive, the relation between social and environmental aspects and economic performance is still oftentimes viewed as a trade-off where some profit must be sacrificed to be sustainable.Based on an interactive qualitative research approach, this thesis shows how a risk management lens can be used to support decision-makers at product development companies in understanding the dynamic interplay between socio-ecological sustainability aspects and business implications. The conceptual understanding of sustainability risks was advanced by identifying their characteristics and by proposing a new definition, utilizing literature review and the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development. In the next step of the research, today’s situation and preconditions at some product development companies in Sweden were studied. Using multiple data collection methods, current risk management practices were investigated and hypotheses for sustainability integration were derived. Based on interviews with industrial and academic experts, the hypotheses were further developed into key aspects for sustainability risk management that can be used as recommendations for practitioners. Utilizing the newly developed definition and key aspects, a conceptual approach for strategic risk management within the sustainability transition was conceived. This approach was then adapted and operationalized as a workshop method for multifunctional teams in the context of product portfolio planning. Finally, the Sustainability Impact and Effects Analysis was developed and tested through an action research approach to provide decision-makers in early phases of the product innovation process with practical support for identifying, assessing, and managing sustainability risks. Uncertainty is neither good nor bad – it is just an inherent part of reality. This thesis showed how a risk management approach can be used to guide decision-making in uncertainty within the sustainability transition in a product development company context. Thereby, companies can take the strategic leadership that is required to benefit from the opportunities that can be found in this time of deep uncertainty.