136
could lead to business value. For example, an operational effi ciency strategy can
address drivers such as raw material costs and pollution and can create business
value such as reducing costs, avoiding risks and motivated workforce due to better
working conditions.
Though the environmental drivers in top-left and top-right appear similar, their
infl uence on businesses is different. In the top-left quadrant, businesses deal with
the resource constraints and product impacts with a piecemeal approach. Whereas
in the top-right quadrant businesses are aware of the limited capacity of our planet
and its infl uence on their long term existence and, thus, openly collaborate with others to radically transform whole systems for planetary sustainability. Implementing
strategies in each dimension needs the involvement of several specifi c corporate
functions in order to reap the business value. In order to be successful in the short
and long term, companies need to devise strategies in all quadrants to create sustainable value.
The ovals in Fig. 11.2 show various business functions that either take part in the
implementation or benefi t from the corresponding strategies. Depending on the
structure of the company there might be differences in involvement by specifi c business functions in each quadrant. The environmental management or sustainability
departments are not separately shown because they either implement the projects or
they are involved in all quadrants depending on the type of project and they can also
be part of operations, innovations or marketing in many companies. The role of various business functions is illustrated with real life case studies in Sect. 4 results and
discussion. For a detailed description of framework with LCA examples from all
quadrants, please refer to Manda ( 2014 ).
4 Results and Discussion
In this section, two case examples are described with two main aspects. First, the
context of companies is provided in terms of different sustainability challenges,
drivers and market situation such as customer needs and demands. Second, it is
delineated how LCA insights and consequent business decisions are translated into
value creation for the company. The two case studies mainly belong to the top-left
quadrant of the framework shown in Fig. 11.2 , i.e. reinventing processes, products
and business models. The case study on vitamin C also has aspects from the lowerleft quadrant, operational effi ciency. Further, an implementation procedure is presented to translate LCA insights into value creation opportunities for business.
4.1 Case Study of Spun-Dyed Modal Fibers from Lenzing AG
The spin-dyeing case study is conducted for Lenzing, a bio-based fi ber producer
based in Austria. This company wants to further strengthen its position as a sustainable
fi ber producer by providing solutions to the challenges faced by textile industry and
B.M.K. Manda et al.
could lead to business value. For example, an operational effi ciency strategy can
address drivers such as raw material costs and pollution and can create business
value such as reducing costs, avoiding risks and motivated workforce due to better
working conditions.
Though the environmental drivers in top-left and top-right appear similar, their
infl uence on businesses is different. In the top-left quadrant, businesses deal with
the resource constraints and product impacts with a piecemeal approach. Whereas
in the top-right quadrant businesses are aware of the limited capacity of our planet
and its infl uence on their long term existence and, thus, openly collaborate with others to radically transform whole systems for planetary sustainability. Implementing
strategies in each dimension needs the involvement of several specifi c corporate
functions in order to reap the business value. In order to be successful in the short
and long term, companies need to devise strategies in all quadrants to create sustainable value.
The ovals in Fig. 11.2 show various business functions that either take part in the
implementation or benefi t from the corresponding strategies. Depending on the
structure of the company there might be differences in involvement by specifi c business functions in each quadrant. The environmental management or sustainability
departments are not separately shown because they either implement the projects or
they are involved in all quadrants depending on the type of project and they can also
be part of operations, innovations or marketing in many companies. The role of various business functions is illustrated with real life case studies in Sect. 4 results and
discussion. For a detailed description of framework with LCA examples from all
quadrants, please refer to Manda ( 2014 ).
4 Results and Discussion
In this section, two case examples are described with two main aspects. First, the
context of companies is provided in terms of different sustainability challenges,
drivers and market situation such as customer needs and demands. Second, it is
delineated how LCA insights and consequent business decisions are translated into
value creation for the company. The two case studies mainly belong to the top-left
quadrant of the framework shown in Fig. 11.2 , i.e. reinventing processes, products
and business models. The case study on vitamin C also has aspects from the lowerleft quadrant, operational effi ciency. Further, an implementation procedure is presented to translate LCA insights into value creation opportunities for business.
4.1 Case Study of Spun-Dyed Modal Fibers from Lenzing AG
The spin-dyeing case study is conducted for Lenzing, a bio-based fi ber producer
based in Austria. This company wants to further strengthen its position as a sustainable
fi ber producer by providing solutions to the challenges faced by textile industry and
B.M.K. Manda et al.