Green Products Definitii

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Journal of Cleaner Production 18 (2010) 1608e1628

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Journal of Cleaner Production

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From green product definitions and classifications to the Green Option Matrix

Rosa Maria Dangelico a,*, Pierpaolo Pontrandolfo b

aDepartment of Mechanical and Management Engineering, Politecnico di Bari, Viale Japigia, 182-70126 Bari, ItalybDepartment of Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development, Politecnico di Bari, Via Alcide De Gasperi, 74100 Taranto, Italy

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 20 November 2009Received in revised form28 May 2010Accepted 8 July 2010Available online 16 July 2010

Keywords:Green productsGreen practicesGreen Option MatrixDow Jones Sustainability World Index

* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ39 080 5962725; faE-mail addresses: [email protected] (R.M. Dang

(P. Pontrandolfo).

0959-6526/$ e see front matter � 2010 Elsevier Ltd.doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2010.07.007

a b s t r a c t

Hybrid cars, recycled products, photovoltaic cells, bioplastics: why so different products can be called‘green’? Which practices companies willing to develop green products should implement? Howcompanies can easily and effectively communicate to stakeholders the environmental features of theirgreen products? This paper tries to answer these questions, by developing a Green Option Matrix (GOM),which characterizes green products and practices along different dimensions. This matrix is then used toanalyze the different features of green products as well as related green practices developed by a sampleof companies belonging to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSWI). Relevant data are collectedby means of content analysis of companies’ websites and sustainability reports. Green products andpractices developed by each company in the sample are positioned in the matrix and results are pre-sented and discussed for each industrial sector. Then, different sectors’ behaviors are compared. Theproposed matrix can be used by companies as a market tool to analyze competitors’ green products andpractices and as a communication tool to effectively communicate to stakeholders the specific greenfeatures of their products and practices.

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1. Introduction

Nowadays, to become ‘green’ is both a need and anopportunity forcompanies. The reasons that push firms to go ‘green’ can be verydifferent, such as legitimacy, competitiveness, and ecologicalresponsibility (e.g. Shrivastava andHart,1995; Bansal and Roth, 2000;González-Benito and González-Benito, 2006; Murillo-Luna et al.,2008). As a result, a growing number of companies are embracingenvironmental sustainability into their strategies (Unruh andEttenson, 2010). In this context, the development of green productsis becoming more and more relevant. In fact, the Green Paper onIntegratedProduct Policy (Commissionof theEuropeanCommunities,2001) states that one way to achieve the target of sustainable devel-opment is “anewgrowthparadigmandahigherqualityof life throughwealth creation and competitiveness on the basis of greener prod-ucts”. The development of green products can also be a means forcompanies to achieve competitive advantage. For example, Porter andReinhardt (2007)highlight theneed for companies to adopt a strategicapproach to climate and to take action now, underlining the oppor-tunity to gain competitive advantage by creating green products, able

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to exploit climate-induced demand (such as hybrid cars). Therefore,the number of companies facing the green product challenge issupposed to rapidly grow in the next years. This is coherent with thegrowing trendof companies that obtainyearly the European Eco-labelfor theirproducts. In fact,while at theendof2000about50companiesobtained European Eco-label for their products, at the beginning of2010, this number has grown to more than1000.

In the literature, research on green product innovation isgrowing in interest (e.g. Baumann et al., 2002; Pujari et al., 2003;Rehfeld et al., 2007; Albino et al., 2009; Dangelico and Pujari,forthcoming). In particular, green products are receivingincreasing attention as means to improve companies’ performance(Pujari, 2006; Chen et al., 2006; Chung and Tsai, 2007). However,the debate regarding what constitutes a green product (e.g. Chen,2001; Baumann et al., 2002; Berchicci and Bodewes, 2005) is stillongoing. Similarly, there is much uncertainty among firms on theproduct dimensions to be considered to develop green products.

This paper aims at providing a description and a characteriza-tion scheme of the main different options to develop green prod-ucts. The goal is then providing a matrix useful for companies tocompare industrial sectors’ green products and practices and tocommunicate to stakeholders the environmental features of theirgreen products and practices.

The paper is structured as follows: Section 2 reports a literaturereview of the main definitions and classifications of green products,

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whereas Section 3 proposes a new dimension of characterizationand the Green Option Matrix (GOM), which represents a guide forcompanies to position their own green products and communicatethem to stakeholders and to analyze competitors’ green products,so highlighting new spaces to be explored for green product design.In Section 4, the proposed matrix is used to analyze green productsand practices developed by a sample of companies considered bestperformers in sustainability, while in Section 5 directions forcompanies on how to use the GOM are provided. Finally, in Section6 discussion and conclusion are reported.

2. Definitions and classifications of green products

The many meanings of the word ‘green’ have been discussed inthe literature (e.g. Kleiner, 1991; McDonagh and Prothero, 1996;Miller and Szekely, 1995; Silverstein, 1993). In particular, McDo-nagh and Prothero identify several dimensions of green, such asecological, political, corporate social responsiveness, fair trade,conservation, non-profit, new-consumerism, sustainability, andequality. These concepts are very broad and embrace very differentaspects, so generating confusion on the meaning of ‘green’ and notgiving clear directions to companies willing to become green.Similarly, at the product level, several attempts have been made todefine what a green product is (e.g. Peattie, 1995; Roy et al., 1996;Ottman, 1997). Nevertheless, there is still confusion on whatconstitutes an environmentally friendly product (Baumann et al.,2002; Berchicci and Bodewes, 2005).

Some authors have tried to define ‘green products’. Peattie(1995, p. 181), defines a product as ‘green’ “when its environ-mental and societal performance, in production, use and disposal, issignificantly improved and improving in comparison to conventionalor competitive products offerings”. This definition highlights thedifferent life cycle phases during which a product can show itsenvironmentally friendly features.

Reinhardt (1998, p. 46) states that environmental productdifferentiation takes place when: “a business creates products thatprovide greater environmental benefits, or that impose smaller envi-ronmental costs, than similar products”. This definition points outthat green products are not only those products with a lowerenvironmental impact, but also those providing higher environ-mental benefits compared to conventional products.

Ottman et al. (2006, p. 24) state that “although no consumerproduct has a zero impact on the environment, in business, the terms‘green products’ or ‘environmental product’ are used commonly todescribe those that strive to protect or enhance the natural environ-ment by conserving energy and/or resources and reducing or elimi-nating use of toxic agents, pollution, and waste”. This definitionstresses the main types of environmental focus of green productdevelopment, namely energy, resources, pollution and waste.

The Commission of the European Communities (2001) definesgreenproducts as products that “use less resources, have lower impactsand risks to the environmentandpreventwastegenerationalreadyat theconception stage”. This definition emphasizes the importance ofdesigning products as ‘green’ since the conceptualization phase.

Several other authors have highlighted the distinctive featuresof green products (Table 1).

The many definitions and characteristics of green productsprompt the need to develop a coherent framework in which inte-grating them. Although in some definitions and characteristics ofgreen products the social performance is mentioned, in this paper,we chose to refer to a product as ‘green’ only on the basis of itsenvironmental performance.

In the literature, different perspectives to classify products havebeen identified, namelymarketing, organization, engineering design,and operations management (Krishnan and Ulrich, 2001). Green

product design can be thought of as a fifth perspective (Sousa andWallace, 2006). In fact, the natural environment represents a driverto redesign existing products or to create new ones, making themmore energy efficient or less material intensive (Shrivastava, 1995).

Several greenproduct classificationshavebeendevelopeddrivenby distinct classification purposes. Taxonomy dimensions can beproduct characteristics (e.g. Rombouts, 1998), level of environ-mental impacts (e.g. Hanssen, 1999), or types of environmentalimprovement strategies (e.g. Park et al., 1999; Rose et al., 1999).Kaebernick and Soriano (2000) use a simplified approach to assessthe conceptual design phase, by classifying products into groupsaccording to their environmental features. They consider fourproduct life cycle phases (materials, process, usage, and disposal)and divide products into two groups, distinguishing two kinds ofimpact drivers, namely energy based andmaterial based. Sousa andWallace (2006) develop an automated classification system guidingthe identification of product groups based upon environmentalcategories. Dewberry and Goggin (1996) develop an EcodesignMatrix, subsequently used by Roy et al. (1996), to classify the envi-ronmental impact of products on the basis of two dimensions: mainlife cycle stage (production, use, and disposal) and environmentalfocus (energy, materials/resources, pollution/toxic waste). Peattie(1995) classifies products on the basis of their eco-performance,distinguishing different shades of ‘green’ (from deep green to black)and types of products (absolute green or relative green). In partic-ular, absolute green products contribute to the improvement ofsociety or the environment, whereas relative green products reducethe harm they cause to society or environment. This distinctionrecalls the onemade in Reinhardt’s (1998) definition. The concept ofabsolute green product is quite close to those of ‘ameliorativeproduct’, defined as a product necessary to survive environmentaldeterioration (Ryan et al., 1992, p. 13), and of ‘sustainable-functionproduct’, defined as “a product (or service) that reduces a negativeimpact in its surroundings to such an extent that the reductionexceeds the impact caused by the product’s lifecycle itself” (Weverand Boks, 2007, p. 201). As highlighted by Wever and Boks (2007)and Wever et al. (2008), despite its high potential, this type ofinnovation lacks of academic attention.

Based on these considerations, this paper expands the EcodesignMatrix proposed by Dewberry and Goggin (1996), adding a thirddimension for green products’ characterization, i.e. the type ofenvironmental impact. In the next Section, the three dimensionswill be explained and integrated in a tridimensional matrix.

3. The Green Option Matrix (GOM)

In order to synthesize and integrate in a coherent frameworkthe different dimensions of green products and to give relevance tothe different types of contributions of green products towards theenvironment, a tridimensional matrix is developed.

Starting from the consideration that every product (even greenones) impacts on the environment (Peattie, 1995), it is important toclarify when, why, and how much a product is green. It is thennecessary to point out:

1. When, i.e. the phase of the product life cycle during which thegreen features are expressed;

2. Why, namely the reason why the product can be consideredgreen, which involves recognizing the main environmentalfocus of the product;

3. How much, that is the type of impact on the naturalenvironment.

With regard to the phase of the product life cycle, we willconsider three main phases: (i) before usage (including materials’

Table 1Review of the characteristics of green products.

.Authors Characteristics associated with the ‘green’ nature of a product

Elkington and Hailes (1988) � Not endangering the health of the consumer or of others� Causing no significant damage to the environment duringmanufacture use or disposal

� Not consuming a disproportionate amount of energy during manufacture, use and disposal� Not causing unnecessary waste, either because of overpackaging or because of an unduly short useful life� No use of materials derived from threatened species or from threatened environments� Not involving unnecessary use or cruelty to animals� Not adversely affecting other countries, particularly the third world

Simon (1992) � Reduced raw material, high recycled content� Non-polluting manufacture/non-toxic materials� No unnecessary animal testing� No impact on protected species� Low energy consumption during production/use/disposal� Minimal or no packaging� Reuse/refillability where possible� Long useful life, updating capacity� Post-consumer collection/disassembly system� Remanufacturing capability

Schmidheiny (1992) � Eliminate or replace product� Eliminate or reduce harmful ingredients� Substitute environmentally preferred materials or processes� Decrease weight or reduce volume� Produce concentrated product� Produce in bulk� Combine the functions of more than one product� Produce fewer models or styles� Redesign for more efficient use� Increase product life span� Reduce wasteful packaging� Improve reparability� Redesign for consumer reuse� Remanufacture the product

Peattie (1995) � Recyclability� Resource efficiency� Emissions� Impact on ecosystems� Social impact� Sustainability of resource use� Waste and disposal� Eco-efficiency of production and organization

Robert (1995) � Minimize the use of nonrenewable materials� Avoid the use of toxic materials� Use renewable resources in accordance with their rate of replenishment

Shrivastava and Hart (1995) � Low environmental impact during usage� Easily composted, reused, or recycled at the end of their useful life

Roy et al. (1996) � Capable of lessening global environmental problems� Energy efficient� Easily repairable� Designed to last, or to be reused, reconditioned or recycled� Generates minimum pollution and waste� Can be disposed of safely� Minimal use of materials, including packaging� Manufactured from renewable or abundant resources, or recycled materials� Manufactured, if possible, locally and from locally obtainable materials to reduce transportrequirements

� Environmental information on product available to purchaser� Not harmful to human health� Satisfies a genuine human need

Luttropp and Lagerstedt (2006) � Do not use toxic substances and utilize closed loops for necessary but toxic ones� Minimize energy and resource consumption in the productionphase and transport

� Use structural features and high-quality materials to minimize weight� Minimize energy and resource consumption in the usage phase� Promote repair and upgrading� Promote long life� Invest in better materials, surface treatments or structural arrangements� Prearrange upgrading, repair and recycling� Promote upgrading, repair and recycling� Use as few joining elements as possible

R.M. Dangelico, P. Pontrandolfo / Journal of Cleaner Production 18 (2010) 1608e16281610

Table 1 (continued ).

Authors Characteristics associated with the ‘green’ nature of a product

Ljungberg (2007) � Reduce the materials and the use of energy for a product� Reduce emissions, dispersion and creation of toxics� Increase the amount of recyclable materials� Maximize the sustainable use of renewable resources� Minimize the service intensity for products and services� Extend the useful life for a product� Assess and minimize the environmental impact� Having a “functional economy”� Use “reverse logistics”� Increase the efficiency in the usage phase

2 The classification of sectors is the one used in the DJSWI and the sample is


extraction, production processes, transportation processes), (ii)usage, and (iii) after usage (end-of-life).

By environmental focus we refer to the main category of envi-ronmental impact of a green product, as the latter can improve itsimpact on the environment with emphasis on materials (includingwater), energy, or pollution (emissions and toxic waste). We canthen distinguish green products, on the basis of their main envi-ronmental focus, respectively as green products focused on mate-rials, energy, and pollution.

Once recognized the three main types of environmental focus ofgreenproducts, it is possible to specify the type of impact, whichwename as less negative, null, or positive. A product can be consideredgreen, in terms of one of the three types of environmental focus, if ithas anenvironmental impact lower thanconventional products, or ifit has a null impact, or if it positively contributes to environment,reducing environmental impact of other products. Below we detailthe definition with respect to each environmental focus.

A green product with a focus on materials is, for example,a product that:

� is produced using less amount of materials than conventionalproducts (less negative environmental impact);

� uses only recycled materials or natural/biodegradable mate-rials at a sustainable rate (null environmental impact);

� is designed to be reused, disassembled and remanufactured, orit is made of materials that can be recycled, reducing then theenvironmental impact of other products that will not requirethe consumption of virgin materials (positive environmentalimpact).1

In Fig. 1 some examples of green products with a focus onmaterials and the respective levels of environmental impact duringa specific phase are shown.

Similarly, a green product with a focus on energy is, for example,a product that:

� is more energy efficient than conventional products, or if partof the energy used comes from renewable energy sources (lessnegative environmental impact);

� uses only energy from renewable sources (null environmentalimpact);

� produces energy from renewable sources, and in so doingreduces the environmental impact that will be caused by otherproducts (positive environmental impact).

In Fig. 2 some examples of green products focused on energyand the respective levels of environmental impact during a specificphase are shown.

1 Products with a positive impact with regard to the focus ‘materials’ recall theconcept of “cradle to cradle”, since they allow a new life for materials.

A green product with a focus on pollution is, for example,a product that:

� is less pollutant than conventional products (less negativeenvironmental impact);

� does not pollute (null environmental impact);� reduces pollution caused by other products (positive environ-mental impact).

In Fig. 3 some examples of green products with a focus onpollution and the respective levels of environmental impact duringa specific phase are shown.

In particular, a greater attention should be addressed to thethird point of each kind of products, i.e. products with positiveenvironmental impact. In fact, while other products can beconsidered ‘green’ as they create less environmental problemsthan conventional products, these products contribute to solveenvironmental problems, which in turn implies a negative envi-ronmental footprint and then a reduction on the environmentalfootprint due to other products. In this sense, a green product withpositive impact can be considered as an “environmental helper”.Note that, as the evaluation of the product impact is done withspecific regard to a given focus and phase rather than over thewhole life cycle, a product with a positive impact might not besuch over the entire life cycle.

Based on the above we propose the Green Option Matrix (GOM)(Table 2) that allows green products to be characterized accordingto the discussed dimensions.

4. The GOM applied to different sectors

The developed matrix is then used to analyze the differentfeatures of green products developed by a sample of 142 compa-nies belonging to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index(DJSWI) and operating in different sectors, in particular Tech-nology, Consumer Goods, Industrial, and Basic Materials.2 Wechoose these companies since the Dow Jones SustainabilityIndexes track the financial performance of the leading sustain-ability-driven companies worldwide.3 Being environmentalsustainability a key dimension of sustainability, these companiesare assumed to be leaders in environmental sustainability, andtheir behavior can be considered as a benchmark. Table 3 reportsthe sample composition.

The significant information for this research has been taken fromcompanies’ public websites, and, when on line available, from their

represented by companies listed in the DJSWI referred to September 2008.3 The identification of sustainability leaders for the Dow Jones Sustainability

Indexes is based on the Corporate Sustainability Assessment of SAM Research,encompassing three dimensions: economic, environment, and social.

Wooden pallets designed to be disassembled andremanufactured

Material Consumption Material Supply

Conventional wooden pallets

Wooden pallets designed to have the minimum weight and volume

Wooden pallets made of certified wood coming from sustainably managed forests

FOCUS: MATERIALS

Less negative Null Positive

Fig. 1. Green products with a focus on materials and levels of environmental impact (evaluation referred to a specific focus and life cycle phase).


environmental/sustainability reports4 (data collection has beencarried out between October 2008 and December 2008; reports online available during this time period were referred to 2007).

Relevant data have been collected by means of content analysisof companies’ websites and sustainability reports (e.g. Wolfe,1991; Krippendorf, 2004). In particular, sections containing thefollowing keywords have been content analyzed: green products,eco products, environmental products, eco-friendly products,environment-conscious products, sustainable products, environ-mental technologies, green technologies, green processes.

In this way, green products and related practices developed byeach company in the sample have been identified and positioned inthe GOM. In particular, to this purpose we developed and useda structured procedure involving three main steps: step 1, identi-fying the focus area(s) to which the improved environmentalperformance of the product/practice or the environmental benefitsdetermined by the product/practice refer; step 2, identifying towhich phase(s) of the product life cycle the improved environ-mental performance of the product/practice or the environmentalbenefits determined by the product/practice refer; step 3, identi-fying the type of environmental impact of the considered product/practice. These steps are depicted in Appendix A.

Results are then aggregated by industrial sector, so as to developa matrix for each sector, which represents the different undertakenactions.5 Comparing the matrices of the different sectors, industryspecific behaviors are highlighted.

For the sake of clarity, the tridimensional matrix is presented bymeans of three separate matrices, each of which referred toa specific environmental focus.

4.1. Technology sector

The technology sector includes companies producing techno-logically based goods, i.e. electronics, software, computers, otherproducts related to information technology.

4.1.1. Environmental focus ‘materials’In Table 4 in Appendix B the GOM filled with green products and

practices developed in the technology sector is shown, with a focuson materials.

4 Being environmental reporting one of the corporate sustainability assessmentcriteria through which companies are selected to belong to the DJSWI, environ-mental information related to products and processes was always present in thesample companies’ websites or reports.

5 Note that if a company inDJSWI coversmore thanone sector, it is classified into oneof them, according to a best in class approach. As a result products and practicesanalyzed fora certain companyunder the relatedsectormightbelongtoothersectors aswell.

In the ‘before usage’ phase, companies have reduced theirproducts’ environmental impact (‘less negative’), through efficientproduction processes, in terms of reduction of water and rawmaterials use, and waste production. Important efforts have alsobeen made to reduce size and weight of products, components andpackaging, therefore at the same time both saving materials andreducing energy consumption and pollution due to transportation.To have a ‘null’ impact some companies have used recycled mate-rials, fibers or paper coming from certified sustainably managedforests, and bio-based plastics. Practices adopted by companies thatcan be conceived as having a ‘positive’ impact are the reuse orrecycle of production wastes or by-products that can then be usedto manufacture new products.

In the ‘usage’ phase, firms have tried to reduce the environ-mental impact of products by extending their lifecycle or makingproducts more efficient, in terms of resource consumption.

Referring to the ‘after usage’ phase, in order to have a ‘null’impact, actions have been devoted to use biodegradable materials.In order to have a ‘positive’ impact, many firms have designedproducts, components, and packaging to be easily disassembled(avoiding glues, adhesives and welds), reused and recycled.

The ‘usage’ phase is the one in which fewer actions areidentified, especially with regard to null and positive impacts,leaving then opened for firms opportunities to explore innova-tive options.

4.1.2. Environmental focus ‘energy’Table 5 in Appendix B shows the GOM filled with green products

and practices developed in the technology sector, with a focus onenergy.

With regard to the ‘before usage’ phase, several green practiceshave been adopted to make production processes more energyefficient (‘less negative’ impact), use renewable energy sources(‘null’ impact) and cogenerate energy or reuse waste energy(‘positive’ impact).

The ‘usage’ phase is the one wherein the greatest variety ofproducts and practices has been proposed in this sector. Inparticular, a number of high-energy efficient products andcomponents have been developed (‘less negative’ impact). Insome of these cases, intelligent devices have been embedded intoproducts to make themmore efficient, such as devices signaling tounplug cell phone charger when the battery is full or automaticluminance control function for LCDs. At a higher level of envi-ronmental impact, there are much fewer products such as eco-mechanisms for watches (‘null’ impact), and photovoltaic cells(‘positive’ impact).

With regard to the ‘after usage’ phase, no products andpractices have been identified, leaving then opened innovationspaces for companies.

Conventional lightings

Energy efficient lightings

Photovoltaicpanels/Wind turbines

Energy Consumption Energy Production

Lightings with integrated photovoltaic cells

Less negative Null Positive

FOCUS: ENERGY

Fig. 2. Green products with a focus on energy and levels of environmental impact (evaluation referred to a specific focus and life cycle phase).


4.1.3. Environmental focus ‘pollution’Table 6 in Appendix B shows the GOM filled with for green

products and practices developed in the Technology sector, witha focus on pollution.

In the ‘before usage’ phase, most practices are developed toreduce emissions due to production and transportation (‘lessnegative’ impact), with attention to avoid the use of toxicsubstances and to use renewable energy sources (‘null’ impact).

In the ‘usage’ phase, all actions undertaken to make products,components, and attachments energy efficient can be considered asthey have also an indirect influence on the reduction of emissions(‘less negative’ impact).

With regard to the ‘after usage’ phase, firms give emphasis tothe elimination of harmful substances, the safe disposal of prod-ucts, and the recyclability of products and components whichprevent electronic wastes from going to landfill (‘null’ impact).

4.2. Consumer goods

The consumer goods sector includes companies selling theirproducts to the final customer, so spanning a wide range of prod-ucts (clothing, footwear, household, personal products, etc.).

4.2.1. Environmental focus ‘materials’Table 7 in Appendix B shows the GOM filled with green products

and practices developed in the Consumer Goods sector, with a focuson materials.

With regard to the ‘before usage’ phase, in order to reduce theirproducts environmental impact (‘less negative’) companies giveemphasis to efficient production processes (in terms of reduction of

Pollution Production

Conventional vehicles

Hybrid vehicles

ElecHyd

Less negative

FOCUS: POLL

Fig. 3. Green products with a focus on pollution and levels of environment

water and raw materials use, and waste production). Importantefforts are also made to reduce size and weight of products,components and packaging, therefore at the same time both savingmaterials and reducing energy consumption and then pollutionproduction due to transportation processes. Furthermore, severalproducts are developed using a certain amount of recycled mate-rial. In order to have a ‘null’ impact’ some companies developseveral products (such as clothes, footwear, building materials)using only recycled or natural (such as bioplastics or organic cotton)materials. Practices that can be conceived as having a ‘positiveimpact’ are the reuse or recycle of production processes wastes orby-products, which can then be reused as inputs for production ormaintenance processes. Moreover, there are some technologiesable to treat resources and make them again available for otherproduction processes (e.g. systems treating process water). Finally,the promotion of reforestation, by firms dealing with forestry, canbe mentioned as having a ‘positive’ impact on the environment.

In the ‘usage’ phase, several environmentally friendly deter-gents for personal care and for household are developed that savewater (‘less negative’ impact) or that are made by natural/organicingredients, which are harmless for people’s skin and then havea ‘null’ impact. In terms of ‘positive’ impact, we couldmention gluesallowing for fast and reliable repair of durable goods, thenextending their life and preserving resources.

Referring to the ‘after usage’ phase, products and packagingpartially (‘less negative’ impact) or completely (‘null’ impact) biode-gradable/compostable are developed. Other practices that can bepositioned in the ‘positive’ impact cell are the development of recy-clable, reusable, repairable, easily disassemblyproducts, components,or packaging. Furthermore, management systems to collect, recover

Photocatalytic cements

Pollution Reduction

tric vehicles/ rogen vehicles

Null Positive

UTION

al impact (evaluation referred to a specific focus and life cycle phase).

Table 2The Green Option Matrix.

. Environmental focus

Materials Energy Pollution

Life cycle phase / BU U AU BU U AU BU U AU

Environmental impact Less negativeNullPositive


and recycle products, components, or packaging (such as tonercartridge, batteries, and consumer electronics) are also developed.

4.2.2. Environmental focus ‘energy’Table 8 in Appendix B reports the GOM referred to green

products and practices developed in the Consumer Goods sector,with a focus on energy.

In the ‘before usage’ phase, companies have developed severalpractices to make production processes more energy efficient (‘lessnegative’ impact), use renewable energy sources (‘null’ impact) andreuse waste energy in terms of heat or gas (‘positive’ impact).

The greatest variety of green products and practices of thissector is proposed in the ‘usage’ phase. In particular, a number ofhigh-energy efficient products and components are developed(‘less negative’ impact). In some of these cases, intelligent devicesare embedded into products to make them more efficient, such asintelligent systems with sensor for energy efficiency. Severalactions are implemented for vehicles, from efficient tires with lowrolling resistance, to alternative feeding systems and engines (suchas common rail, hybrid engine, biodiesel compatible systems), tocar solar roofs. Several insulating products are developed forbuildings, such as interlayer film for laminated glass and adhesivestile for houses. At a higher level of environmental impact, we canmention biofuels and several solutions for buildings, such asnatural ventilation, solar thermal panels for hot water heating,wind turbines to generate electricity for use in lighting (‘null’impact), and roofing materials for solar cells (‘positive’ impact).

Finally, with regard to the ‘after usage’ phase neither productsnor practices with a ‘less negative’ or ‘null’ impact can be identified,whereas some practices are developed with a ‘positive’ impact. Inparticular, products are developed that can be disassembled ordirectly used to generate energy (such as vehicles or tires) at theend of their lifecycle.

4.2.3. Environmental focus ‘pollution’Table 9 in Appendix B shows the GOM filled with green products

and practices developed in the Consumer Goods sector, with a focuson pollution.

In the ‘before usage’ phase, many practices are developed toreduce emissions due to production and transportation and tofiltrate and purify water (‘less negative’ impact). In terms of ‘null’environmental impact, several practices are aimed at eliminatingchemicals and substances that could be harmful during production

Table 3Sample composition.

.Industrial sector Number of companies

Technology 23Consumer goods 36Industrials 55Basic materials 28

Total 142

processes (such as chlorine, fluorine, etc.). In terms of ‘positive’impact the cleaning up of contaminated sites and the use of wasteas fuels contribute to reduce waste in the environment.

Referring to the ‘usage’ phase, the most important actions toreduce pollution are developed with regard to vehicles. In terms of‘less negative’ impact, these include all actions developed for thefocus ‘energy’ plus other systems to reduce vehicles’ emissions,such as particulate filters, and exhaust gas treatment system.Several other innovations for vehicles, such as fuel cells, and elec-tric cars, or tires without aromatic oils, can be mentioned as havinga ‘null’ impact. In terms of ‘positive’ impact, the following productscan be mentioned: silicone sealants with biological activesubstances and fungicide as well as water purification equipment.6

With regard to the ‘after usage’ phase, products are developedwith reduced (‘less negative’ impact) or null (‘null’ impact) contentof toxic substances, harmful after product disposal, such as lead,chrome, fluorocarbon, and PVC.

4.3. Industrials

The industrial sector includes companies whose businesses aremainly related to themanufacture and distribution of capital goods,such as construction, engineering and building products, aero-space, electrical equipment, and industrial machinery.

4.3.1. Environmental focus ‘materials’Table 10 in Appendix B shows the GOM filled with green

products and practices developed in the Industrials sector, witha focus on materials.

With regard to the ‘before usage’ phase, companies reduce theirproducts’ environmental impact (‘less negative’) giving emphasis toefficient production processes (in terms of reduction of water andraw materials use, and waste production). Important efforts arealso made to reduce size and weight of products, components andpackaging, therefore at the same time both saving materials andreducing energy consumption and then pollution production due totransportation. Furthermore, several products are developed usinga certain amount of recycled material. In order to have a ‘null’impact several products are completely made of recycled materials,or renewable raw materials coming from certified sources (such aswood, cellulose, and fibers). Finally, the recyclability of by-productsand the recovery and reuse of water, which can then be used asinputs for other processes, can be mentioned as practices witha ‘positive’ impact.

In the ‘usage’ phase, two main types of products with ‘lessnegative’ impact are developed: products with higher durability

6 With regard to products, in this paper the type of environmental impact isevaluated considering as unit of analysis products that represent autonomoussystems for the final customer. For example, a water filter can be an autonomoussystem as the consumer may buy it as such, whereas a particulate filter for cars isnot an autonomous system as consumers generally buy it as part of a car; thus itsenvironmental impact will be considered as part of the car. However, thisassumption may be altered according to the GOM user and its objectives.


and resource-saving products (which consume less water, deter-gent or paper during their use). Products using renewable resources(such as biomass power plants) could be mentioned as havinga ‘null’ impact, whereas neither products nor practices are identi-fied as having a ‘positive’ impact.

Referring to the ‘after usage’ phase, products and packagingpartially biodegradable or recyclable (‘less negative’ impact),completely biodegradable (‘null’ impact), and completely reusableor recyclable (‘positive’ impact) are developed.

4.3.2. Environmental focus ‘energy’Table 11 in Appendix B reports the GOM related to green

products and practices developed in the Industrials sector, witha focus on energy.

In the ‘before usage’ phase, companies reduce their products’environmental impact (‘less negative’) through energy efficientproduction processes, designing products requiring less energy tobe produced and installed, using computerized control systems toreduce energy consumption during production processes, or opti-mizing transportation processes. The use of renewable energysources can be mentioned as practice aimed at having a ‘null’impact, whereas waste heat and gas recovery for power generationas practice with a ‘positive’ impact.

Several products and practices can be identified in the ‘usage’phase. A number of high-energy efficient products and compo-nents are developed (‘less negative’ impact). In particular, severalactions are undertaken for vehicles, such as the development offuel-efficient engines, hybrid vehicles, the use of materialsreducing aerodynamic drag or weight of vehicles, and energyconserving systems applied to engines (e.g. converter for hybridcars). In the field of building and construction, thermal insulatingproducts can be mentioned. At a higher level of environmentalimpact, we can mention green buildings, with integrated photo-voltaic solar system on the roof (‘null’ impact), several productslinked to renewable energy production (wind turbines, hydroturbines, solar cells, biomass power plants), materials increasingpower generation efficiency, and systems to generate electricalenergy and process heat from waste (‘positive’ impact).

In the ‘after usage’ phase, neither products nor practices areidentifiedwith a ‘less negative’ or ‘null’ impact, whereas, in terms of‘positive’ impact, products are developed that can be recycled intobiofuels at the end of their lifecycle.

4.3.3. Environmental focus ‘pollution’Table 12 in Appendix B shows the GOM filled with green

products and practices developed in the Industrials sector, witha focus on pollution.

In the ‘before usage’ phase, companies have implementedseveral practices to reduce emissions from production processes(such asmore efficient heat generation systems) and transportationprocesses (such as use of more efficient transportation means orreduction of size and weight of products). Many products aredeveloped reducing the content of chemicals and hazardousmaterials. Furthermore, a modification of product formulation canlead to the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions duringproduction (such as in the case of composite cements, with reducedclinker content). All these actions can be positioned in the ‘lessnegative’ impact cell. In terms of ‘null’ environmental impact,practices are mainly devoted to the prevention of soil pollution. Thereuse of waste, contributing to reduce waste from the environment,could be mentioned as having a ‘positive’ impact.

Referring to the ‘usage’ phase, several technologies and systemsto reduce pollution (‘less negative’ impact) are developed withregard to vehicles: clean engines, hybrid vehicles, and lightweightvehicles. Other interesting innovations are excavators able to adapt

power levels to each operation, and detergents with low volatileorganic compounds (VOCs) emissions. Fuel cells and detergentswithout chemical cleaners can be mentioned as having a ‘null’impact. In terms of ‘positive’ impact some interesting products aredeveloped to reduce pollution produced by other products orprocesses. Among them a special note goes to products to reduceCO2 (CO2 absorbent ceramics), NOx (photocatalytic cements) fromair and oil (oil-skimmers) from water and to accelerate thedecomposition of waste.

In the ‘after usage’ phase, most actions are addressed to developproducts and packaging with ‘null’ impact: products withoutmaterials, chemicals, and gases (such as lead, bismuth, bromine,fluorocarbons) that are hazardous when products are disposed, andpackaging that does not produce dioxin when burned.

4.4. Basic materials

The basic materials sector includes companies involved with thediscovery, development and processing of raw materials. Inparticular, it includes mining and refining of metals, chemicalproducts and forestry products.

4.4.1. Environmental focus ‘materials’Table 13 in Appendix B shows the GOM filled with green

products and practices developed in the Basic Materials sector, witha focus on materials.

With regard to the ‘before usage’ phase, companies reduce theirproducts environmental impact (‘less negative’) through efficientproduction processes (in terms of reduction of water and rawmaterials use, and waste production). In order to have a ‘null’impact several products are developed using only recycled mate-rials, or renewable and natural materials. In particular, interestingproducts could be mentioned in the field of polymers (such asbiomass derived plastics). Achievement of zero waste and zerowater to discharge through operational efficiency also deservesspecial note. Among practices with a ‘positive’ impact we canmention the recycle of waste materials, hazardous wastes, water,and used oil generated from operations; all of these can then beused as inputs for other processes.

In the ‘usage’ phase, wemention as products with ‘less negative’impact, paints for car refinishes reducing the amount of materialrequired for adequate coverage compared to traditional systems,and special materials enabling a longer useful life of products. Noproducts or practices with a ‘null’ or ‘positive’ impact are identified,leaving then innovation opportunities opened for firms.

Referring to the ‘after usage’ phase, products and materialspartially biodegradable (‘less negative’ impact), completely biode-gradable (‘null’ impact), and completely recyclable (‘positive’ impact)are developed.

4.4.2. Environmental focus ‘energy’Table 14 in Appendix B shows the GOM filled with green

products and practices developed in the Basic Materials sector, witha focus on energy.

With regard to the ‘before usage’ phase, companies reduce theirproducts environmental impact (‘less negative’’) through energyefficient production processes. The use of renewable energy sour-ces and the replacement of oil as heating fuel by peat, biomass andrecycled fuel are practices aimed at having a ‘null’ impact. Co-generation plants, waste heat and gas recovery for power genera-tion, and reuse of waste to produce energy can be mentioned ashaving a ‘positive’ impact.

With regard to the ‘usage’ phase, in terms of ‘less negative’impact, we can mention solar reflecting pigments (preventing heatabsorption on roof coatings), heat transfer fluids (reducing energy


consumption in refrigeration systems), paints for car refinishes(requiring less energy than traditional systems), and aluminum forthe vehicular industry (reducing weight and then saving energy).No products are identified as having a ‘null’ impact, whereas we canmention organic photovoltaic cells and aluminum photovoltaicpanels as having a ‘positive’ impact.

With regard to the ‘after usage’ phase, materials that can berecycled with high-energy efficient processes (such as aluminum)can be mentioned as having a ‘less negative’ impact, whereasneither products nor practices with a ‘null’ or ‘positive’ impact areidentified, leaving then opportunities to innovate for companies.

4.4.3. Environmental focus ‘pollution’Table 15 in Appendix B shows the GOM filled with green

products and practices developed in the Basic Materials sector, witha focus on pollution.

Referring to the ‘before usage’ phase, several practices areadopted to reduceemissions fromproductionprocesses (suchasfluegas cleaning systems, more efficient heat generation systems, andtechnologies to capture the CO2 coming from coal combustion) andto reducewaste production (‘less negative’ impact). In terms of ‘null’impact, themain actions are the development of newprocesses thatgenerate no by-products, systems that biologically clean waste-water, carbonneutral polymers (suchasplant-basedpolylactic acid),fiber recycled from biomass and not requiring organic solvents inmanufacturing, and the avoidance of chemicals substances. In termsof ‘positive’ impact, the reuse of wastewater, which contributes toreduce waste from the environment, can be mentioned.

In the ‘usage’ phase, many products and practices to reducepollution (‘less negative’ impact) are developed. These refer toreductionofVOCs inproducts, lightermaterials forvehicular industry,elimination of sulfur from gasoline and diesel fuels. As productshaving a ‘null’ impact, we can identify chlorine-free bleaching cropprotection products and ‘green’ lights that avoid problems for birds’migration. In terms of ‘positive’ impact, some interesting products aredeveloped to support environmental preservation (tools and systemsfor water purification, air purification, soil cleanup).

With regard to the ‘after usage’ phase, we identify only oneproduct as having a ‘null’ impact (halogen-free flame retardantalloy resin), whereas neither products nor practices are identifiedas having ‘less negative’ or ‘positive’ impact.

4.5. A comparison of green products and practices in differentsectors

The comparison among sectors is made by measuring four sectorvariables: (i) the most diversified environmental focus, that is iden-tified counting the total number of filled matrix cells7 per environ-mental focus type, regardless the lifecyclephaseaswellas the impact;(ii) diversification of products and practices within each environ-mental focus, i.e. the number of filled matrix cells for the consideredenvironmental focus; (iii) diversification of products and practiceswith ‘positive’ impact, which ismeasured as the total number offilledmatrix cells corresponding to ‘positive’ impact regardless the envi-ronmental focus; (iv) overall diversification of products andpractices,which is measured by the total number of filled matrix cells.

Diversification has been chosen as the main criterion tocompare the behaviour of companies operating in different sectors,since it allows us to highlight for each sector both how the meaningof ‘green’ is multidimensional and howmany options for ‘greening’products and practices are available.

7 It is not relevant howmany practices or products are positioned in each cell, butthat at least one product or one practice has been positioned in that matrix cell.

Referring to level (i), in the Technology sector, the most diver-sified types of environmental focus are materials and energy. Thisresult is coherent with the kind of products developed in this sector(e.g. printers, cellular phones, computers) wherein the most rele-vant impacts are represented by materials, especially before andafter usage (most of products and practices are indeed identified insuch phases), and energy consumption, especially during productuse (most of products and practices are indeed identified in sucha phase). By addressing the environmental focus energy, not onlyproducts’ environmental impact is reduced but also energy and costsavings benefit customers. In the Consumer Goods sector and in theIndustrial sector, materials prove to be the most diversified envi-ronmental focus. This result depends on several innovationopportunities available in terms of materials used in products ofthese sectors. Finally, materials and pollution are the predominanttypes of environmental focus in the Basic Materials sector. This wasexpected since several innovation options are available to reducematerials’ environmental impact in terms of materials’ features(such as recyclability, biodegradability, etc.) and reduction ofpollution due to materials’ toxicity, whereas fewer innovationopportunities are available with regard to energy.

Considering level (ii), with regard to the environmental focusmaterials, the most diversified sector is Consumer Goods, whereinall matrix cells (life cycle phase/environmental impact) are filledout, followed by Industrial, Basic Materials, and Technology.Referring to the environmental focus energy, the most diversifiedsectors are Consumer Goods and Industrials, wherein seven out ofnine cells are filled out, followed by Technology and Basic Mate-rials. For the environmental focus pollution, the most diversifiedsector is Consumer Goods (all cells are filled out in this case),followed by Industrial, Basic Materials, and Technology. To sum up,the most diversified sector is Consumer Goods regardless theenvironmental focus. This result is coherent with expectations,since Consumer Goods is the sector with the widest range ofproducts, which in turn reflects on the variety of developed greenproducts and practices.

With regard to level (iii) the most diversified sector with respectto products and practices with a ‘positive’ impact is ConsumerGoods, wherein eight out of nine cells are covered, followed byIndustrial, Basic Materials, and Technology. We believe that theresult of the Consumer Goods is the effect of what noted above(wide range of products) joint with the great efforts by companiesin this sector to develop innovative products and practices thatreduce the environmental impact of other products.

Considering level (iv), the sector with the highest overalldiversification of products and practices is Consumer Goods fol-lowed by Industrial, Basic Materials, and Technology. In ouropinion, especially in this case, the wide range of products devel-oped by Consumer Goods sector plays a key role to explain theobserved rank.

Based on the observed green products and practices, somegeneral considerations can also be developed. First of all, it shouldbe specified that the positioning of products and practices in theGOM is not mutually exclusive, meaning that a product (practice)can be positioned in more than one GOM cell. Such a feature is veryuseful to both identify and communicate those green products andpractices that present a manifold impact (which can be cross-focusas well as cross-phase). For example, almost all sectors haveadopted practices such as size and weight reduction of products,packaging, andmaterials. These efforts are very valuable in terms ofenvironmental impact, since they are related to all the three typesof environmental focus. In fact, they allow for material conserva-tion, reduce the energy used and the pollution produced fortransportation (before usage), as well as reduce the energy usedand the pollution produced during product use (usage) when


referred to vehicles. Furthermore, practices aimed at improvingenergy efficiency of processes or products are quite common aswell as very valuable, since they also have an indirect effect onpollution reduction.

5. How companies can put the GOM into practice

The GOM can be used by companies as a market analysis tool tostudy competitors’ green product offering and as a communicationtool for public relations activities. If the purpose of the matrix isconducting a market analysis of competitors’ green productsoffering, first, a market analyst should identify the company’smain competitors as well as their green products, then, an envi-ronmental expert, able to recognize these products’ environmentalfocus, phase of life cycle, and type of impact, should position themin the matrix. The positioning of green products and practices ofthe DJSWI companies (as discussed in Section 4) indeed representsan example of the use of the matrix as a market analysis tool. Thematrix filled out with competitors’ green product offering couldthen be taken into account by the top management, for decisionsmaking about the green product portfolio management. Forexample, a company can decide the share of new products withenvironmental features similar to the ones of competitors’ prod-ucts, as well as the share of more innovative green products. In theformer case new products would be positioned in already filledcells of the matrix deriving from the market analysis, in the lattercase these products would be positioned in empty cells.

If the purpose of the matrix is to communicate to stakeholdersthe company’s environmental efforts, first, managers knowledge-able about environmental performance of products and processes(e.g. head of environmental management/affairs or head of HSEmanagement) should position in it the company’s green productsand practices. Then, people in charge of public relations shouldfurther elaborate the matrix to make it more easily readable andunderstandable by stakeholders. We suggest such a matrix to beincluded in the company’s environmental/sustainability report.

Despite the above discussed benefits, it is not straightforward toidentify to which cell of the GOM a given real product/practiceshould be assigned. To support companies in this task we furtherdetailed the procedure reported in Appendix A as a checklist(Appendix C). The development of such a checklist, with respect tothe dimension environmental impact, benefited from the analysiswe conducted on the 142 DJWSI companies: after the detailedscreening of the implemented products and practices, we charac-terized them according to the environmental impact (less negative,null, positive), then developed a short general description of anygroup of products (practices) recognized as similar, finally usedsuch a description as an item of the checklist, which a company caneasily use as a reference to position actual products (practices).

6. Discussion and conclusion

This paper has stressed that despite several definitions andclassifications of green products, an integrated characterizationseems to be still lacking in the literature. In fact, most of thecontributions available in the literature generally put emphasis onsingle aspects that can be associated with the greenness ofa product. In particular, this paper has explicitly recognizeda specific type of green products, which previous tools (such as theEcodesign matrix) do not highlight: products contributing to theimprovement of the environment. We define such products ashaving a positive impact in that they reduce the environmentalimpact of other products.

A new dimension to better characterize green products has thenbeen introduced, “type of environmental impact”. It can assume

three different levels, i.e. less negative, null, and positive, whosemeaning is slightly different according to each of the three envi-ronmental focus (materials, energy, and pollution). A Green OptionMatrix (GOM) has been developed to integrate this new dimensionwith environmental focus (materials, energy, and pollution) andlife cycle phase (before usage, usage, and after usage).

The GOM has then been used to analyze and characterize greenproducts and practices developed by a sample of companiesconsidered best performers in sustainability. In particular we haveanalyzed all companies listed into the DJSWI in the sectors Tech-nology, Consumer Goods, Industrials, and Basic Materials. Thecomparison of green products and practices in different sectors hashighlighted which types of environmental focus are most impor-tant for each sector, and to which extent the developed greenproducts and practices are diversified. As expected, ConsumerGoods has proven to be the sector with the highest levels ofdiversification of green products and practices.

Several questions were posed at the beginning of this paper.First, we raised the point about why very different products,becomingmore andmorewidespread in themarket (such as hybridcars, recycled products, photovoltaic cells, and bioplastics to namea few), can be claimed as ‘green’. Our study, by helping to structurethe knowledge about products’ environmental features, highlightsthe multi-facets features of ‘greenness’ and provides us witha roadmap to understand commonalities and differences amongseveral types of green products.

Anotherquestionwe raisedwas related to practices that shouldbeimplemented by companies willing to develop green products. Byconducting an analysis of green products and practices developed by142 companies, leaders in sustainability and operating in differentindustrial sectors, and positioning them in the GOM, we suggestawide rangeofoptions that couldbe implementedbycompanies thatare starting to shift towards more sustainable business models. Theother question we raised was about how companies can easily andeffectively communicate to stakeholders the environmental featuresof their green products. Due to a rapid increase of the public interesttowards environmental issues, companies are feelingmore andmorein duty bound to communicate to stakeholders their environmentalefforts. While several guidelines exist for reporting overall firms’environmental performance (see for instance the Global ReportingInitiative), similar tools have not been developed for products. Ofcourse, the environmental excellence of products can be communi-cated through eco-labels or in terms of LCA results. However, not forall product categories eco-labels exist (thinkofproducts related to theproduction of renewable energy), and,when available, they generallygive a synthetic indication of high environmental performance,without providing a detailed picture of the different types of envi-ronmental focus, impact, or life cycle phase that the productaddresses. On the other hand, communicating LCA results could bemisleading for customers if producers of competitive products do notdo the same. The GOMmay thus represent a suitableway for firms tocommunicate environmental features of their green products.

This study has several implications for companies. The GOM, inthat helps to structure the knowledge about green products andpractices (referable to a single company aswell as to awhole sector)may represent a useful tool for companies that want to developgreen products. In particular, the value of this matrix can betwofold: (i) as a market analysis tool, helping companies to analyzecompetitors’ green products and practices, so providing tangibledirections to green their products, as well as suggesting directionsto be explored, by identifying areas wherein green products orpractices have yet to be developed (empty cells of the GOM); in thissense the GOM can support green product portfolio management;(ii) as a communication tool, helping companies in their commu-nication strategies to stakeholders about the environmental


impacts of their products or practices (in particular we suggest thefilled out GOM to be included in a company’s environmental/sustainability report). It should be noticed that, since the use of theGOM as a communication tool helps companies to be specific intheir green claims (the GOM forces a company to explicit the when,why, and how much), it prevents them from making general claimsof ‘ecological’, ‘green’, sustainable’ products, so reducing the risk ofgreen washing.

Among the possible limitations of our study, we would stressthat the GOM is not proposed as a tool to assess the environmentalimpact of products. In fact, a careful evaluation of a product envi-ronmental impact would require the use of life cycle assessmenttools and should take into account the conditions of use of theproduct itself as well as external factors, such as the state of theecosystem, which may affect its impact. The proposed approach isindeed qualitative in terms of the estimated environmental impactas well as referred to specific phases and specific types of envi-ronmental focus, rather than quantitative and measured over the

Appendix A

Steps to characterize green products and practices.

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Table 4Green option matrix for the environmental focus materials in the Technology sector.

.Impact Life cycle phase

Before usage Usage

Less negative - Efficient production processes(reducing water use,raw material use,waste production)

- Reduction of products,components andpackaging size and weight(e.g. new generationsemiconductors, PCs, etc)

- Manuals on CD-ROM tominimize paper use

- Reduction of packaging impact(e.g. packaging printed with monochromeink; universal packaging component, etc)

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entire life cycle. Such an approach has been adopted since it iscoherent with the main purpose of our study, which is to offer aneasy tool to managers for green product market analysis andcommunication. Methodologies and tools for a quantitativeassessment of the environmental impact (such as LCA software) arealready available and out of the scope of this study.

Furthermore, even though we developed the checklist to thebest of our knowledge and analyzing companies recognized assustainability leaders, we cannot exclude that additional itemsshould be added to it, as a result of the technological progress aswell as the existence of green products and practices that couldresult difficult to refer to one of the checklist items.

While the developed matrix as well as the procedure to positionproducts and practices in it were tested through the analysis of thesustainability reports of 142 sustainability leaders companies, aninteresting avenue for future research could be testing the devel-oped checklist in some case study companies through directinterviews with managers.

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Impact Life cycle phase

Before usage Usage After usage

Null - Use of recycled materials forproducts and packaging (ex. plastics)

- Elimination of harmful substances- Use of fibers or papercoming from certifiedsustainably managed forests (FSC, PEFC)

- Bio-based materials fromrenewable materials(such as polylactate-based plastic)for notebook PCs orcell phones covers

- Recycling water fromrainfall and sewage

- Software delivery throughdownload instead of CDs

- - Elimination of waste CDs bydelivering software throughdownload instead of CDs

- Biodegradable foam for packaging

Positive - Water reuse and recycle- Material recycle- Hazardous wastes recycle- Waste recycle or reuse- Scrap/by-products recycling

- - Easily disassemblable products(avoidance of glues,adhesives and welds)(printers, PCs, notebooks PCs, etc)

- Reusable products, components,and packaging

- Recyclable products, components(phone and batteries, printers)and packaging

Table 5Green option matrix for the environmental focus energy in the Technology sector.



Less negative - Practices reducing energy consumption(e.g. use of energy saving lightings, use of recycledrather than raw materials, integrating thecontrol of lighting and air conditioning,tuning air conditioning and lighting based onsunlight and heat transmission)

- High-energy efficient products(scanners, printers, projectors, copiers,PCs, faxes, monitors, multifunctional devices,speaking amplifiers, transistors, processors,microprocessors, etc)(e.g. warm-up time shortened, use of LEDs,optimization of power consumptionsystems for desktop PCs)

- High-energy efficient attachments(e.g. chargers for electronic products)

- High-energy efficient components(e.g. chips, new generation semiconductorsusing less power per transistor)

- Devices signalling to unplug cellphone charger when the battery is full

- Low-power electronic devices(such as PDAs, web tablets, portable andwired Internet access devices, gateways)

- Automatic luminance control function forLCDs, so reducing LED consumption

- Dimming LEDs and small LEDs- System integrating multiple functionson a single chip

- Energy profile to monitor energy use bydifferent active applications and turn offthe not needed ones (e.g. in cell phone)

-

Null - Use of renewable energy sources - Eco-mechanism for watches powered by theunwinding of a mainspring with nobatteries or motors

-

Positive - Co-generation plants (e.g. use of reverse osmosis reject waterfrom water treatment facility) to provide electricity,heating, and cooling

- Reusing energy fromexhaust hot gas

- Photovoltaic solar cells -


Table 6Green option matrix for the environmental focus pollution in the Technology sector.



Less negative - Reduction of emissions inproduction processes

- Reduction of emissions due to transportation(e.g. use of local materials, transportationoptimization, products' size and weightreduction, software deliverythrough downloading instead of CD)

- energy efficient productsand applications micropro-cessors meeting the moststringent international inter-ference and health standardsfor radio frequency

-

Null - Processors produced witha lead-free process

- Preventing the use ofhazardous materials and chemicals

- Use of renewable energysources

- Use of supercriticalfluid technology asalternative to classic solvents

- No ozone-depletingsubstances (e.g. CFCs) usedin the production process

- - Elimination of CFCs and radioactive materials- Elimination of harmful substances- Halogen-free products- Lead-free products- Elimination of PVC in packaging- Safe disposal of used products- Recyclable products (no electronic wastes in landfill)

Positive - - -

Table 7Green option matrix for the environmental focus materials in the Consumer Goods sector.



Less negative - Reduction of products, components andpackaging size and weight

- Reduction of water use- Reduction of raw materials- Reduction of waste generation- Products partially made ofpost-consumer material(e.g. bottles with recycled glass,cans with recycledaluminium and steel;packaging with recycled plastic)

- Products partially made byrenewable raw materials(e.g. detergents, glue sticks,wallpaper sticks, packaging adhesives)

- Replacement of empty packagewater rinsers with air rinsers

- Systems reducing liquid lossesduring production line changes,start-ups and shutdowns

- High performing detergents(saving water)for hands or clothes(e.g. no water is neededto generate the foam)

- Partially biodegradable products

Null - Use of recycled water inproduction processes

- Use of natural andrenewable raw materials(e.g. gum rubber and ricehusks and organic cotton in footwear,soy oil-based polyurethanefoam for passenger seats in vehicles,organic cotton in clothes,bioplastics in packaging)

- Wood and timber coming fromsustainably managed (local) forests

- No artificial colours and flavours in food- Use of recycled materials(e.g. recycled polyester, recycledPET plastic, recycled fabrics)in products and packaging(e.g. clothes, footwear, food carrier bags,tissue papers and towels ofpaper, building materials)

- Shampoos with plant extractsform certified organic crops

- Toothpaste with materialsnatural based or from certifiedorganic cultivations

- Soap, shampoo, and showergel formulations made ofnatural ingredients

- Biodegradable/compostableproducts and packaging(e.g. soap and shower gel,footwear, packaging for food)


Table 8Green option matrix for the environmental focus energy in the Consumer Goods sector.



Less negative - Low energy consuming productionprocesses

- Combined heat and power plant- Food requiring less amount of heatto be cooked

- Energy efficient products (e.g. coolers, washing machines,batteries, lightbulbs, LEDs, TVs, DVD home theatre, airconditioners, buildings, eco-fluorescent lamps)

- High performing detergents(working at low temperatures)

- Intelligent systems with sensor for energy efficiency (in TVs)- Intelligent chargers automatically shutting off whenobjects charged

- Ejector cycle in refrigeration- Heat insulating interlayer film for laminated glass- Insulating sealants, tile adhesives for houses

Vehicles:- Hybrid vehicles- High-concentration ethanol vehicles- Cars with solar roof- Biodiesel compatible vehicles- High precision injection(four-cylinder petrol engine)

- Auto start stop function(switch off the engine whenthe car is at a standstill and in neutral)

- Electric power steering(ensure that energy is onlyused during actual steering manoeuvres)

- Brake energy regeneration(power from brake pedal)

- Electrically controlled vents(air resistance reduced,as is fuel consumption)

- Gear shift indicator(the system gives recommendationson how to go up anddown the gears reducingfuel consumption)

- Use of lighter materials- Hybrid engine- Lithium-ion batteries for hybrid engine- Natural gas vehicles- LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) vehicles- Biodiesel vehicles- Starter generator facilitating idle-stops- More fuel-efficient engines(such as high precision injection,

-

(continued on next page)




Positive - Sustainable forest management,promotion of tree planting

- Recycle 100% of waste (zero emission system)- Systems treating all process water,enabling it to be recycled and reused(e.g. membrane bio reactor)

- Production waste recycling- Reuse and/or recycle ofraw materials and wastes

- Use of by-products as raw materials- Use recycled water for coolingwater and plant maintenance

- Glue allowing for fast and reliablerepair of durable goods(extending their life andconserving resources)

- Recyclable products,components, and packaging(e.g. batteries, toners, tyres,vehicles, televisions, radiator,bottles and containers

- Recyclable house(reuse system house)

- Reusable packaging- Repairable andreusable alternators

- Easily disassemblyproducts (e.g. oil filters)

- Management systemsthat collect, recover andrecycle post-consumer packaging,products, or components(fax toner cartridge, batteries,consumer electronics)





direct injection, transmission efficiency, common railsystem; improvement of injectorsfor finer spray automatization;variable cam timing; battery enginecontrol unit for hybrid cars)

- Common rail system

Tires:- Weight of the tire reduced- Rolling resistance decreased- Tire-pressure inflation-monitoring systems

Null - Use of renewable energy sources(such as solar, wind, hydroelectric,geothermal power generation,biofuels, etc)

- Green building (natural ventilation,thermal mass via the concreteframe, solar thermal panels forhot water heating and a wind turbineto generate electricity for use in lighting)

- Second generation biofuels

-

Positive - Use of landfill gas to generate energy- Reuse of heat from production processes- Waste wood as biomass energy source

- Roofing material for solar cells - Recovering tyres asfuel with a highheating value

- Vehicle 95%recoverable; 10%can provide energy(for cementproduction, heating, etc.)

Table 9Green option matrix for the environmental focus pollution in the Consumer Goods sector.



Less negative Reduction of production emissions:- Process that eliminatesthe need for steam insoap manufacturing

- Use of climate-friendly icecream cabinets(hydrocarbon refrigerant cabinets)

- Sustainable agriculture:reduction of pesticide use

- Reduction of chemicalsand hazardous materials

- Reduction in consumption ofsolvents(main source of VOC emissions)

- Reduction of use of paintcontaining toluene, xylene or styrene

- Reduction of release ofchemical substances intothe environment

- Minimization of waste generatedReduction emissions due to transportation:- Use of cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles- Reduction in the number of vehicles- Reduction of packaging material- Concentrated detergents- Optimization of logistics processesWater:- Water filtration systems tomaximize the purity of water

- Treatment of water after usage

Vehicles:- (All items mentioned in theenvironmental focus energy)

- NOx reducing systems- Integrated powertrain and filtersystems to reduce NOx, CO and volatilehydrocarbons emissions

- Exhaust gas treatment system- Particulate filterTires:- Weight of the tire reduced- Rolling resistance decreased- Tire-pressureinflation-monitoring systems

Fuels:- Second generation biofuels

- Reduction of halogenatedplastic for electrical wires

Null - Use of elemental chlorine-free(ECF) and total chlorine-free(TCF) bleached pulp

- Use of fluorine-free glue

- Fuel cell vehicles- Electric cars- Tyres’ tread compoundswithout aromatic oils

- Lead-free solder in manufacturingproducts (such as wide screen TVs,DVD players, digital stillcameras and cellular telephones)

- PVC-free products


Table 11Green option matrix for the environmental focus energy in the Industrial sector.



Less negative - Products requiring less energy to be produced- Products requiring less energy to be installed- Use of computerized control systems to reduceenergy consumption during production processes

- Transport optimization- Use of more fuel-efficient vehicles- Size and weight reduction, concentrationof products (reduction of transportation)

- Use of more efficient heat generation systems

- Energy-efficient products(LEDs, lamps, engines, airconditioners, buildings, etc)

- Thermal insulatingproducts/materials (e.g. ecoglass)

- Fuel-efficient engines- Hybrid vehicles- Lightweight vehicles- Energy-efficient heat pump systems- Energy conserving products(e.g. converter for hybrid cars andother systems applied to engines)

- Use of materials reducingaerodynamic drag of vehicles

- Reduction of vehicles’ weight

-

Null - Use of renewable energy sources(such as solar, wind, hydroelectric,geothermal power generation, etc)

- Green buildings with photovoltaicsolar system on the roof

-

Positive - Waste heat recovery for power generation- Waste gases recovery for power generation

- Wind turbines- Hydro turbines- Solar cells- Biomass power plants- Materials increasing power generation efficiency- System for generating electrical energy and processheat from residues of paper production

- Waste productsrecyclable into biofuels




- Control and eliminationof chemical substances

- Elimination of hazardous wastes- Responsible disposal of unsoldproduct and of packaging

- Use of hydroflurocarbon (HFC)free insulation in refrigeratedpoint-of-sale equipment

- Toluene-free adhesive products

- Chrome-free leather- Evaporator withouthexavalent chromium (in vehicles)

- Mercury-free bulb (in vehicles)- Lead-free starter (in vehicles)- Use of hydroflurocarbon(HFC) free insulation in refrigeratedpoint-of-sale equipment

- Avoidance of the use ofsofteners in PVC

- Non-fluorocarbon carair conditioner

Positive - Redevelopment of brownfield land;cleaning up of contaminated sites; returningof the land to productive

- High-quality refuse derived fuel

- Mold blocker silicone sealant throughbiological active substances and fungicide

- Drainage water purification equipment

-

Table 10Green option matrix for the environmental focus materials in the Industrial sector.



Less negative - Products with a percentage of recycled materials- Water efficiency- Raw materials efficiency- Size and weight reduction of products andpackaging reduction of cushioning material

- Products with high durability(more robust, with longer service life)

- Resource-saving products (which consumeless water, detergent and paperduring their use)

- Products partially made ofbiodegradable or recyclable materials

Null - Products completely made fromrecycled or discarded material

- Products completely made of renewableraw material coming from certified sources(such as wood, cellulose, and fibers)

- Elimination of waste in all its forms

- Products using renewableresources (such as biomass power plants)

- Biodegradable products(such as bioplastics)

Positive - Water recover and reuse- Recyclable by-products

- - Reusable packaging and products- Recyclable packaging and products


Table 12Green option matrix for the environmental focus pollution in the Industrial sector.



Less negative - Reduction of GHG emissionsduring production processes

- Miniaturization, weight reduction,concentration of products(reduction of transportation)

- Transport optimization- Use of cleaner-burning alternativefuel vehicles for transportation

- Use of hybrid vehicles for transportation- Use of more efficient heat generation systems- Use of control systemshelping to reduce GHG emissions

- Composite cements(with reduced clinker content)

- Reduction of hazardous materials- Reduction of chemicals

- Clean engines- Hybrid vehicles- Efficient crankcaseventilation filtration systems

- Vehicles with exhaust gasrecirculation and selectedcatalytic reduction

- Lightweight vehicles- Excavator able to adaptpower levels to each operation

- Detergent with low VOC emissions- Tube for furnacesensuring low nitrogen emissions

-

Null - Prevention of soil pollution - Fuel cells- Detergents without chemical cleaners

- Packaging that does not producedioxin when burned

- Products (such as air conditioners)without fluorocarbons

- Elimination of hazardous materials andchemicals (such as lead, bismuth, bromine, etc)from products

- Tools that do not require theuse of any cutting fluids

Positive - Waste reuse - Photocatalytic cements- Oil-skimmers based on steelbelts facilitating recovery ofoil from contaminated water

- CO2 absorbent with bariumorthotitanate ceramics

- Technology to accelerate thedecomposition of waste

- Ceramic filtering systemsparticulate trapping for diesel engines

-

Table 13Green option matrix for the environmental focus materials in the Basic Materials sector.



Less negative - Reduction of water wastes- Minimization of waste generation- Minimization of raw material use newprocesses for propylene oxide, to reduce water use

- New processes for propylene oxide,to reduce water use

- Paint for car refinishes reducing theamount of material required for adequatecoverage compared to traditional systems

- Special steels enabling a longer useful life of products

- Organic photovoltaic cells

Null - Use of recycled metal to producetop quality aluminium foil

- Wood coming fromsustainably managed forests

- Chelating agents made of renewable materials- Production of polyethylenefrom renewable resource (sugar cane)

- Sustainable management of water- Renewable polymers(such as plant-based polylactic acid)for fibres, textiles and plastic resin products

- Biomass derived plastic(plant fiber-reinforced plastic made byplant-based polylactic acid and cellulose)

- Biodiesel (e.g. from canola)- Organic compound made of recycled vegetalwastes and sludge from the steelworks

- Zero waste through operational efficiency- Zero water to discharge

- - Biodegradable materials(polymers, chelates, biomassderived plastics, solvents)

Positive - Recycle waste materials- Recycle hazardous wastes- Reuse and recycle water- Recycle of used oil generated from operations

- - Recyclable materials(e.g. aluminium)

- Design-for-recycling


Table 14Green option matrix for the environmental focus energy in the Basic Materials sector.



Less negative - Energy efficient production processes- New processes for propyleneoxide, to reduce energy use

- Recirculation system to recyclehot air and save energy

- Clean coal: technologies tosignificantly improveefficiency from the use of coal

- Solar reflecting pigments(preventing heat absorption on roof coatings)

- Heat transfer fluids reduceenergy consumption in refrigeration systems

- Aluminium or transparent polycarbonatefor the vehicular industry (lightness saves energy)

- Paint for car refinishes requiringless energy to be used compared to traditional systems

- Energy efficient lighting solutions

- Materials that can berecycled with high-energyefficient processes(e.g. aluminium)

Null - Use of green electricity(from renewable energy sources)

- Replacement of oil as heating fuelby peat, biomass and recycled fuel

- -

Positive - Used oil generated fromoperations burned for energy recovery

- Use of by-product gas forn-house generation systems

- Capture and conversion of coalmine methane into saleable energy

- Piping methane gas fromlandfill to generate steam

- Waste incineration and energy recovery- Energy co-generation plant(use of surplus gas from iron andsteelmaking to produce electricity and steam)

- Reuse of wastes from woodpreparation to generate steam

- Organic photovoltaic cells- Aluminium photovoltaic panels

-

Table 15Green option matrix for the environmental focus pollution in the Basic Materials sector.



Less negative - Production processes with low emissions- Reduction of hazardous substances- Flue gas cleaning system(reduction of nox and SOx)

- Recirculation system torecycle hot air (reduction of co2)

- Clean coal: technologies tocapture the co2 created from coal combustion

- Reduction of waste to landfill

- Reduction of volatile organic compounds(VOCs) in products(e.g. car refinishes and solvents)

- Use of aluminium in the vehicular industry(lightness reduces emissions)

- Use of transparent polycarbonate in thevehicular industry(lightness reduces emissions)

- Use of special lighter materials(such as steels) in transportation (containers)

- Stainless steel (lighter)in the vehicular industry

- Brilliance scanner with radiationdoses reduced by up to 80%

- Removing of sulphur fromgasoline and diesel fuels

- Natural gas cylinders andconversion kits for vehicles(allowing switch betweennatural gas and other fuels)

-

Null - New processes for propylene oxide,to generate no by-products

- Wastewater cleaned biologicallybefore flowing into the sea

- Avoidance of chemicals substances- Carbon neutral polymers(such as plant-based polylactic acid)for fibres, textiles and plastic resin products

- Fiber recycled from biomass and not requiringorganic solvents in manufacturing

- Emission-free alternative energy sources

- Chlorine-free bleaching cropprotection products ensuringconservation of soil structure by leaving roots intact, helping toprevent soil erosion

- ‘Green’ lights not creatingproblems for birds migration

- Halogen-free flame retardantalloy resin (for DVD recorder)

Positive - Industrial re-use of municipal waste water - Products used to support environmentalpreservation (water purification,air purification, soil cleanup)(e.g. chips detecting microorganisms forsoil and groundwater cleanup)

-


.Product or practice description Correspondingtype of impact

, Product with extended lifecycle/high durability Less negative, Eco-efficient products, requiring/allowing the

use of less materialsLess negative

, Products using renewable raw materials (wherecompetitive products use non renewable ones)

Null

, Products that during use are in contact withpeoples’ skin and are made of natural/certifiedmaterials

Null

, Products allowing to extend lifecycle of other products Positive


, Product or packaging partly made of biodegradablematerials

Less negative

, Product or packaging partly made of recyclablematerials

Less negative

, Product or packaging completely made ofbiodegradable materials

Null

, Product or packaging completely reusable,remanufacturable, or recyclable

Positive


Appendix C. Checklist to guide the characterization of greenproducts and practices.

� STEP 1

In which one(s)8 of the following focus areas does theproduct/practice display improved environmental performancecompared to industry standards or determines environmentalbenefits?

, Materials (including water) / go to the section ‘materials’, Energy / go to the section ‘energy’, Pollution/toxic waste / go to the section ‘pollution/toxic

waste’

Section ‘materials’

� STEP 2

In which phase(s) of the product life cycle does the product/practice display improved environmental performance comparedto industry standards or determines environmental benefits?

, Before product usage/ go to the section ‘before product usage’, During product usage / go to the section ‘during product usage’, After product usage/ go to the section ‘after product usage’

Before product usage

� STEP 3

Select the description that better reflects the product or practiceand derive the corresponding type of impact.

.Product or practice description Corresponding type of impact

, Eco-efficient productionprocesses

Less negative

, Reduction of product orpackaging’s size and weight

Less negative

, Use of recycled materials forproduct or packaging

Null

, Use of materials not containingharmful or toxic substances forproduct or packaging

Null

, Use of renewable materials forproduct or packaging

Null

, Use of environmentallycertified raw materials forproduct or packaging

Null

, Production waste recycling/reuse Positive, Production water recycling/reuse Positive .Product or practice description Corresponding

type of impact

, Products requiring less energy to beproduced or installed

Less negative

, Reduction of product or packaging’ssize and weight

Less negative

, Use of practices reducing energyconsumption in production plants

Less negative

, Transport optimization Less negative, Use of more efficient energy generation

systems in production processesLess negative

During product usage

� STEP 3

Select the description that better reflects the product orpractice:

8 Note that more than one choice is possible for steps 1 and 2. In such cases, allthe related sections need to be considered.

After product usage

� STEP 3

Select the description that better reflects the product or prac-tice:

Section ‘Energy’

� STEP 2

To which phase(s) of the product life cycle the improved envi-ronmental performance of the product or the environmentalbenefits determined by the product refer?

, Before product usage/ go to the section ‘before product usage’, During product usage / go to the section ‘during product usage’, After product usage/ go to the section ‘after product usage’


� STEP 3


, Use of renewable energy sourcesin production processes

Null

, Use of co-generation plants to provideelectricity, heating, and cooling inproduction processes

Positive

, Generating energy from exhaust hotgas/waste in production processes

Positive



� STEP 3



, Energy efficient products, attachments, components Less negative, Size and weight reduction of products used for transport Less negative, Thermal insulating products/materials Less negative, Energy conserving products Less negative, Products working through energy coming from

renewable sources by themselves generatedNull

, Products increasing energy generation efficiency Positive, Products generating energy from renewable

energy sourcesPositive


, Energy efficient products, attachments,components

Less negative

, Size and weight reduction of productsused for transport

Less negative

, Products with reduced electromagneticwaves emissions

Less negative

, Products reducing pollution/releaseof toxic substances during their use

Less negative

, Products avoiding pollution/releaseof toxic substances during their use

Null

, Products avoiding/reducing pollution/releaseof toxic substances of other products

Positive

After product usage

� STEP 3



, Products or packaging that can be recycledwith high-energy efficient processes

Less negative

, Reusing products or packaging withoutany processing

Null

, Waste products recyclable into fuel Positive


, Products with reduced amount of toxicsubstances e e.g. CFCs, radioactive materials,PVC e (thus generating a reducedamount of toxic waste)

Less negative

, Products avoiding the use of toxic substances(thus not generating toxic waste)

Null

, Products that reduce the pollution in theenvironment wherein disposed

Positive

Section ‘polluation/toxic waste’

� STEP 2

To which phase(s) of the product life cycle the improved envi-ronmental performance of the product or the environmentalbenefits determined by the product refer?

, Before product usage/ go to the section ‘before product usage’, During product usage / go to the section ‘during product

usage’, After product usage/ go to the section ‘after product usage’


� STEP 3


.Product or practice description Corresponding type of impact

, Reduction of emissionsin production processes

Less negative

, Reduction of emissions dueto transportation

Less negative

, Use of renewable energy sourcesin production processes

Null

, Avoidance of the use of hazardousmaterials and chemicals inproduction processes

Null

, Redevelopment of brownfield land/cleaning up of contaminated sites

Positive

, Transforming productionwaste in fuel

Positive


� STEP 3


After product usage

� STEP 3


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