Sustainability Pressure hits deadlocked Processes
Companies today have a duty to incorporate environmental aspects into product and brand decisions. While the EU Green Deal and CSRD set guidelines, customers are increasingly preferring sustainable brands. Both show that sustainability is becoming increasingly important at various levels.
Many corporate design teams work according to established guidelines — from supplier relationships to established material processes. This creates path dependencies that prevent sustainable concepts from being implemented at an early stage. Ecological aspects are often only examined at a later stage, when material decisions have already been made.
- Sustainability is gaining in importance due to laws and customers
- Rigid processes delay sustainable implementation
- Experience innovation motivates teams
- Positioning and products are defined
Sustainable Design
as a decisive Lever
Sustainability is a central issue across the entire value chain as consumers increasingly prefer environmentally friendly materials and companies without a sustainable design strategy lose market share.
Studies show that the key environmental effects of a product are defined as early as the design stage: Design decisions made early have a significant impact on the CO₂ footprint, material consumption and the subsequent end of a product's life. If ecological levers are not used in this early phase, unnecessary waste and cost-intensive improvements are created later on.
Circular Design avoids waste right at the source by allowing companies to plan a closed material cycle right from the start. Even in the concept phase, the choice of materials and product use are designed in such a way that recycling and energy-saving production are possible.
In order to meet these requirements, IFID develops adapted sustainability services: expertise is combined with practical methods and thus supports corporate design teams to effectively and quickly integrate sustainability into their processes.
- Relevance of sustainable design for the environment and market success
- IFID supports with research and expertise
Workshop: Co-creation as an Experience
IFID works across industries and brings together processes from technology and industrial design. Through the exchange of different industries, innovative material and process concepts are integrated into corporate design teams. With the help of applications such as life cycle assessment software and extensive material databases, CO₂ balances can be calculated and material recommendations can be made for companies at an early stage of development.
An analysis of current trends ensures that patents and regulatory developments, among other things, are observed. This allows customers to flexibly and promptly adapt their design strategies to new requirements, such as the EU PFAS ban.
In addition, IFID acts as a driving force for the reconciliation and cooperation of relevant stakeholders and helps to integrate sustainable guidelines quickly and effectively into companies' internal processes.
- IFID brings new impetus to corporate design.
- Direct integration of expertise and ideas
- Joint development of prototypes in workshop
- Clear positioning and team building as a result
Recommendations for Action & Impulses
In working phases, companies can look at relevant interfaces together with IFID, initiate sustainable innovations in corporate design and revise the project according to eco-design criteria. For this purpose, inventories are carried out to record the effects on the environment and sustainability.
The team learns about new materials, innovations and guidelines, creating a catalog of ideas that shows how sustainable design can be implemented in various industries.
IFID helps you create an interactive overview with environmental indicators such as CO₂ emissions and brand-related developments. As a result, connections and progress are presented transparently and clearly and understandable for all parties involved.
In addition, knowledge transfer is promoted by developing individual guidelines for sustainable work. In addition, internal designers from the companies work together with the IFID teams to get to know and implement new approaches and methods directly in practice.
- Analyze and optimize sustainable design in corporate design
- Environmental indicators, research and guidelines for practical ecodesign
More Questions?
Some topic cannot be answered in a general way. If you would like to discuss a specific project, a challenge or an idea, we would be happy to provide you with personal support.
What does Sustainability in Design stand for?
Sustainability in design means taking ecological, social and economic aspects into account right from the design and concept stage in order to reduce resource consumption, CO₂ emissions and waste and to make products, services or brands ecologically sustainable in the long term.
What is the Significance of Sustainable Design for future Product Innovations?
Sustainable design promotes innovative material concepts, new technologies and circular product strategies that not only provide environmental benefits but also create long-term competitive advantages as they meet future market and regulatory requirements.
What is Circular Design?
Circular Design is an approach that focuses on the circular economy and resource efficiency: Materials and products are designed in such a way that recycling, reuse and energy-saving production are possible and waste is avoided right at the source.
What does sustainable Corporate Design mean?
Sustainable corporate design takes ecological and social aspects into account not only in product design, but also in brand communication, processes, supply chains and internal guidelines to establish a holistic sustainability strategy.
meaningful
experiences
