48
that there are signifi cant environmental impacts in the use stage of a product, then
an investigation of consumers’ desires and demands would be an obvious departure
point of further consideration. If an enterprise uses chemicals or materials, which
are on the list of undesirable substances, it would be sensible to begin phasing
them out.
On the basis of experience, the initial area and goal(s) are redefi ned and a new
round of efforts begins with plans, improvements, etc. Focus should remain on
achieving specifi c environmental and social improvements to the product profi le,
while realizing results achieved throughout the improvement process.
During this and subsequent stages, the organization can begin (or continue) to
broaden its relationship in the product chain. It is much easier to develop a base of
knowledge if there is cooperation and an atmosphere of trust among producers, suppliers, retail store owners, disposal facilities and other stakeholders in the product
chain.
3 Concluding Remarks
With a number of drivers both from governments, consumers, social activists, suppliers of technological advancement, internal CSR strategies and so on, companies
are becoming more engaged in sustainability practices. LCM is an approach to help
companies set up Life Cycle Management initiatives, to achieve environmental,
economic and social benefi ts at the same time through implementing a step-by-step
quality management tool. The relevance of the PDCA cycle is discussed to ensure a
continuous performance improvement by setting and implementing a well-defi ned
plan, checking whether the ambition goals and targets are achieved or any adjustment actions are needed as part of the evaluation process.
LCM has been identifi ed as the way to operationalize sustainability challenges
into business practices; however, its implementation faces signifi cant challenges.
Setting clear and measureable goals is one of the challenges. The focus of LCM
initiatives is different from the usual business strategies, which are mainly focusing
on maximizing the profi t as the ultimate goal. LCM initiatives have a wider scope in
order to have both social and environmental benefi ts along with maintaining the
economic advantages. The divergent priorities between the fi nancial and sustainability focuses are challenging tasks for managers at different organizational level.
A successful implementation of LCM then needs a full integration across the
organization.
Another challenge to implementing LCM into business practices is when there is
a cost associated with the suggested improvements. In some cases, the economic
benefi ts of being sustainable are seen in short-term actions. This is the case, when
initiatives signifi cantly reduce the energy and resource consumption, which internally provide fi nancial benefi ts to the company. Such initiatives are easy to implement as they provide the company with environmental, social and economic benefi ts
simultaneously. But this is not always true. In some cases, sustainability actions
E.D. Gemechu et al.
that there are signifi cant environmental impacts in the use stage of a product, then
an investigation of consumers’ desires and demands would be an obvious departure
point of further consideration. If an enterprise uses chemicals or materials, which
are on the list of undesirable substances, it would be sensible to begin phasing
them out.
On the basis of experience, the initial area and goal(s) are redefi ned and a new
round of efforts begins with plans, improvements, etc. Focus should remain on
achieving specifi c environmental and social improvements to the product profi le,
while realizing results achieved throughout the improvement process.
During this and subsequent stages, the organization can begin (or continue) to
broaden its relationship in the product chain. It is much easier to develop a base of
knowledge if there is cooperation and an atmosphere of trust among producers, suppliers, retail store owners, disposal facilities and other stakeholders in the product
chain.
3 Concluding Remarks
With a number of drivers both from governments, consumers, social activists, suppliers of technological advancement, internal CSR strategies and so on, companies
are becoming more engaged in sustainability practices. LCM is an approach to help
companies set up Life Cycle Management initiatives, to achieve environmental,
economic and social benefi ts at the same time through implementing a step-by-step
quality management tool. The relevance of the PDCA cycle is discussed to ensure a
continuous performance improvement by setting and implementing a well-defi ned
plan, checking whether the ambition goals and targets are achieved or any adjustment actions are needed as part of the evaluation process.
LCM has been identifi ed as the way to operationalize sustainability challenges
into business practices; however, its implementation faces signifi cant challenges.
Setting clear and measureable goals is one of the challenges. The focus of LCM
initiatives is different from the usual business strategies, which are mainly focusing
on maximizing the profi t as the ultimate goal. LCM initiatives have a wider scope in
order to have both social and environmental benefi ts along with maintaining the
economic advantages. The divergent priorities between the fi nancial and sustainability focuses are challenging tasks for managers at different organizational level.
A successful implementation of LCM then needs a full integration across the
organization.
Another challenge to implementing LCM into business practices is when there is
a cost associated with the suggested improvements. In some cases, the economic
benefi ts of being sustainable are seen in short-term actions. This is the case, when
initiatives signifi cantly reduce the energy and resource consumption, which internally provide fi nancial benefi ts to the company. Such initiatives are easy to implement as they provide the company with environmental, social and economic benefi ts
simultaneously. But this is not always true. In some cases, sustainability actions
E.D. Gemechu et al.