249
studies provided accurate and quantifi ed information to document the improved
environmental profi le of new vehicles. In 2012, the company organized a crossfunctional team from design, innovation, manufacturing, IT systems, marketing and
more to benchmark Renault’s life cycle thinking activities and propose recommendations to advance their efforts. Renault developed a CMM tailored to their specifi c
needs. The model addressed fi ve management areas:
1. Plan – set strategy and defi ne targets
2. Enablement tools and competencies
3. Evaluate – measure product performance
4. Eco-design – create products with improved environmental performance
5. Value-clarify benefi ts and capital creation
Five stages of maturity were defi ned – Compliant (license to produce),
Fragmented (localized environmentally effi cient approaches), Integrated (company
aligned behind common key indicators), Extended (company has integrated the key
stakeholders) and Global (pioneer in innovation and sustainable value creation, i.e.
human, natural, fi nancial capitals). The LCM CMM was used as a resource to
develop semantic descriptions for the maturity matrix. For example, an ‘Integrated’
maturity level for the management area ‘Enablement’ was described as ‘Partial integration with traditional company IT system. Personal development in place for all
employees, including sustainability training & development.’
The eco-transition matrix was used to survey the top 20 suppliers and proved to
be a valuable aid for enhancing collaboration, which is not an intuitive action and
need to be organized (Segrestin 2003 ). The transition from ‘Integrated’ level to
‘Extended’ is particularly ambitious, as the company needs to open its boundaries
to engage stakeholders and integrate them into its activities. Specifi c projects, such
as an LCA of electric vehicles (Renault 2011 ) were used to engage value chain
partners in co-designing tools, making key decision or product specifi c rules in a
Collaborative LCA scheme (Morel 2014 ). The matrix clearly documents company
progress and helps identify additional opportunities to enhance sustainable development management. It has also proved to be a very good team-building tool within
supplier training programs. The matrix also helps disseminate knowledge of company activities and reveal differing perceptions of various functional groups or business units.
3 Discussion
The case studies presented cannot be considered a rigorous evaluation of the LCM
CMM. Case studies are always subject to concerns about the degree to which the
observations can be generalized. Thus, the results should be viewed in terms of an
ongoing action research project to further refi ne the approach (Kaplan 1998 ). To
validate the effi cacy of the LCM CMM it would be necessary to demonstrate the
model incorporates the capabilities needed to effectively conduct LCM programs
17 Building Organizational Capability for Life Cycle Management
studies provided accurate and quantifi ed information to document the improved
environmental profi le of new vehicles. In 2012, the company organized a crossfunctional team from design, innovation, manufacturing, IT systems, marketing and
more to benchmark Renault’s life cycle thinking activities and propose recommendations to advance their efforts. Renault developed a CMM tailored to their specifi c
needs. The model addressed fi ve management areas:
1. Plan – set strategy and defi ne targets
2. Enablement tools and competencies
3. Evaluate – measure product performance
4. Eco-design – create products with improved environmental performance
5. Value-clarify benefi ts and capital creation
Five stages of maturity were defi ned – Compliant (license to produce),
Fragmented (localized environmentally effi cient approaches), Integrated (company
aligned behind common key indicators), Extended (company has integrated the key
stakeholders) and Global (pioneer in innovation and sustainable value creation, i.e.
human, natural, fi nancial capitals). The LCM CMM was used as a resource to
develop semantic descriptions for the maturity matrix. For example, an ‘Integrated’
maturity level for the management area ‘Enablement’ was described as ‘Partial integration with traditional company IT system. Personal development in place for all
employees, including sustainability training & development.’
The eco-transition matrix was used to survey the top 20 suppliers and proved to
be a valuable aid for enhancing collaboration, which is not an intuitive action and
need to be organized (Segrestin 2003 ). The transition from ‘Integrated’ level to
‘Extended’ is particularly ambitious, as the company needs to open its boundaries
to engage stakeholders and integrate them into its activities. Specifi c projects, such
as an LCA of electric vehicles (Renault 2011 ) were used to engage value chain
partners in co-designing tools, making key decision or product specifi c rules in a
Collaborative LCA scheme (Morel 2014 ). The matrix clearly documents company
progress and helps identify additional opportunities to enhance sustainable development management. It has also proved to be a very good team-building tool within
supplier training programs. The matrix also helps disseminate knowledge of company activities and reveal differing perceptions of various functional groups or business units.
3 Discussion
The case studies presented cannot be considered a rigorous evaluation of the LCM
CMM. Case studies are always subject to concerns about the degree to which the
observations can be generalized. Thus, the results should be viewed in terms of an
ongoing action research project to further refi ne the approach (Kaplan 1998 ). To
validate the effi cacy of the LCM CMM it would be necessary to demonstrate the
model incorporates the capabilities needed to effectively conduct LCM programs
17 Building Organizational Capability for Life Cycle Management