like the WEEE directive for electronic waste [2] and EVL for the end-of-life of
vehicles in Europe [3] to local environmental objectives (e.g. Sweden’s 16 environmental quality objectives) [4]. Furthermore, participatory initiatives and standards for companies and organizations such as the Global Reporting Initiative
(GRI) and ISO standards demonstrate efforts undertaken towards sustainability.
With regard to the environment, ISO 14001 exemplifies the participatory action that
companies may take to reduce their impact on the environment. However, this
standard is general and differences still remain, for example, organizations differ in
how they are organized, what they offer, their business model and their core values.
These differences may lead to the adoption and adaptation of tools that support
decision-making in contexts suitable to the organizations and their specific circumstances [5, 6]. A problem area that is frequent in product development organizations is that environmental awareness initiatives are based at the manufacturing
level and not at the product level [7], resulting in narrow coverage by an environmental program. Through case study methodology, this paper offers a unique
view on how Volvo Group developed Environmental Screening (EnvS), a tool
aimed at improving the environmental performance of its products and solutions. In
this regard, three research questions are postulated.
• How can an environmental evaluation tool towards sustainability be used more
in practice at a large company?
• How can internal organizational needs be identified and addressed in order to
develop an environmental evaluation tool towards sustainability?
• How could an environmental evaluation tool support decision-making in the
early stages of design towards sustainability?
2 Background Research
The scientific literature provides several examples of how organizations can adopt
and adapt tools to reduce the environmental impact of their operations. This is
especially important in the early stages of design, given the greater potential there to
reduce the environmental impact of products and services [8]. The early stages of
design seem to benefit most from qualitative and easy-to-use tools. This could be
partially explained by the lack of information, risk, uncertainty and subjectivity
found during the early stages [7]. Schöggl et al. [9] suggest that qualitative tools are
preferred at this stage, due to the lack of information and difficulty in quantifying
environmental impacts. Tools and methods that address environmental impacts
usually fall under the umbrella of Design for the Environment or Ecodesign [7],
which can be described as an approach that addresses the environmental impact of
the entire life of a product or service, from the early stages of design [6]. Tools
following this approach are plentiful. Pigosso et al. [10] identified 350 publications
between 1993 and 2015 dealing with tools and methods related to Ecodesign.
However, Rousseaux et al. [11] suggest that there is still low uptake of such tools.
382
S. A. Brambila-Macias et al.
vehicles in Europe [3] to local environmental objectives (e.g. Sweden’s 16 environmental quality objectives) [4]. Furthermore, participatory initiatives and standards for companies and organizations such as the Global Reporting Initiative
(GRI) and ISO standards demonstrate efforts undertaken towards sustainability.
With regard to the environment, ISO 14001 exemplifies the participatory action that
companies may take to reduce their impact on the environment. However, this
standard is general and differences still remain, for example, organizations differ in
how they are organized, what they offer, their business model and their core values.
These differences may lead to the adoption and adaptation of tools that support
decision-making in contexts suitable to the organizations and their specific circumstances [5, 6]. A problem area that is frequent in product development organizations is that environmental awareness initiatives are based at the manufacturing
level and not at the product level [7], resulting in narrow coverage by an environmental program. Through case study methodology, this paper offers a unique
view on how Volvo Group developed Environmental Screening (EnvS), a tool
aimed at improving the environmental performance of its products and solutions. In
this regard, three research questions are postulated.
• How can an environmental evaluation tool towards sustainability be used more
in practice at a large company?
• How can internal organizational needs be identified and addressed in order to
develop an environmental evaluation tool towards sustainability?
• How could an environmental evaluation tool support decision-making in the
early stages of design towards sustainability?
2 Background Research
The scientific literature provides several examples of how organizations can adopt
and adapt tools to reduce the environmental impact of their operations. This is
especially important in the early stages of design, given the greater potential there to
reduce the environmental impact of products and services [8]. The early stages of
design seem to benefit most from qualitative and easy-to-use tools. This could be
partially explained by the lack of information, risk, uncertainty and subjectivity
found during the early stages [7]. Schöggl et al. [9] suggest that qualitative tools are
preferred at this stage, due to the lack of information and difficulty in quantifying
environmental impacts. Tools and methods that address environmental impacts
usually fall under the umbrella of Design for the Environment or Ecodesign [7],
which can be described as an approach that addresses the environmental impact of
the entire life of a product or service, from the early stages of design [6]. Tools
following this approach are plentiful. Pigosso et al. [10] identified 350 publications
between 1993 and 2015 dealing with tools and methods related to Ecodesign.
However, Rousseaux et al. [11] suggest that there is still low uptake of such tools.
382
S. A. Brambila-Macias et al.