Project developers: Management / Initiative driver
Partners : Product development / Purchasing / Quality

Steering my eco-design approach

The product categories concerned

Context and description

The majority of organisations committed to eco-design initiatives begin with tests on a limited number of products.

Although this pragmatic approach is highly effective in order to trigger commitment, it needs to be consolidated via a global and cross-functional eco-design strategy.

This permits eco-design to be established at the core of the organisation's strategy, involving top decision-makers as well as various departments (purchasing, design, production, logistics, marketing…), and the priority actions to be put in place to be targeted.

Consequently, to sustainably commit an organisation to a value-creating initiative involving its entire chain, it is essential to develop and steer an eco-design strategy which is accompanied by human resources, processes and monitoring indicators.

IMPLEMENTATION

Simple

Complexity of implementation

Low

Estimated economic gain

Low

Human means

1 year
2 seasons

Implementation timeframes

Simple

Complexity of implementation

Low

Estimated economic gain

Low

Human means

1 year
2 seasons

Implementation timeframes

STAGES OF IMPLEMENTATION
Try it! : Follow the sheet step by step and have a go!
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  • Constitute a project team: hold an information meeting on eco-design and launch a call for volunteers in order to identify a leader for the initiative and form a cross-functional project team (See Sheet: Try it! : Training my personnel in the stakes of eco-design).

    Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

  • Define your vision : identify where the structure is positioned as regards an eco-design initiative by carrying out a self-assessment of its maturity (which aims to review the processes) ; develop an eco-design "vision" of the company (Cf. See Tool 1 p.12)

    Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

  • Present this vision in terms of a strategy: is it a question of innovating, reducing risks, developing a new image or responding to a market need?
    How will the initiative be promoted in the future?

    Objectify the place of eco-design within the organisation's strategy and formalise a clear road map. The implementation of this road map is integrated into the job descriptions of the project team members.

    Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

  • Fix objectives (clear and easy to understand) to be reached according to the degree of priority of the eco-design project.

    Progressive strategy of migration towards eco-design beginning with a single product or an in-depth and rapid transformation of ranges? What proportion of the product offer is concerned and according to which timeframe?

    Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

  • Choose the products to be eco-designed as a priority.

    It is possible to base yourself on a company product offer template(See Tool 1 p.25) or a segmentation template in order to justify and support these choices (See tool 2).

    Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

  • Assess the products to be eco-designed. Determine the main environmental impacts of the products to be eco-designed and at which stages of the life cycle they are situated.

    For this, firstly look to see whether life cycle analysis studies have already been conducted for this type of product.

    Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

  • Co-compile an annual action plan: drawing support from teams, via collective intelligence meetings, define the actions to be put in place in response to the previously identified priority stakes (See Sheet Try it! : Developing a product with an eco-design action at every stage of the life cycle).

    Formalise these actions within an annual action plan and prioritise them in keeping with the resources dedicated to their implementation.

    Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

  • Equip the initiative with monitoring indicators: set out objectives, priorities and impacts in terms of monitoring and performance indicators.

    Ensure that every indicator is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Acceptable, Realistic, Timeframe-defined) and explain the reporting process (development of the indicator, manager of the indicator, reporting timescale…).

    Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

  • Conduct the annual assessment of the eco-design initiative based on an analysis of indicators: what progression in terms of implementation and what are the results / performances of eco-design actions?

    Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

  • Report on these results during a retrospective and forward-looking meeting with the project team and management in order to define the action plan for the year to come.

    Communicate progress to personnel and potentially, to company stakeholders.

    Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

Constitute a project team: hold an information meeting on eco-design and launch a call for volunteers in order to identify a leader for the initiative and form a cross-functional project team (See Sheet: Try it! : Training my personnel in the stakes of eco-design).

Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

Define your vision : identify where the structure is positioned as regards an eco-design initiative by carrying out a self-assessment of its maturity (which aims to review the processes) ; develop an eco-design "vision" of the company (Cf. See Tool 1 p.12)

Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

Present this vision in terms of a strategy: is it a question of innovating, reducing risks, developing a new image or responding to a market need?
How will the initiative be promoted in the future?

Objectify the place of eco-design within the organisation's strategy and formalise a clear road map. The implementation of this road map is integrated into the job descriptions of the project team members.

Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

Fix objectives (clear and easy to understand) to be reached according to the degree of priority of the eco-design project.

Progressive strategy of migration towards eco-design beginning with a single product or an in-depth and rapid transformation of ranges? What proportion of the product offer is concerned and according to which timeframe?

Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

Choose the products to be eco-designed as a priority.

It is possible to base yourself on a company product offer template(See Tool 1 p.25) or a segmentation template in order to justify and support these choices (See tool 2).

Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

Assess the products to be eco-designed. Determine the main environmental impacts of the products to be eco-designed and at which stages of the life cycle they are situated.

For this, firstly look to see whether life cycle analysis studies have already been conducted for this type of product.

Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

Co-compile an annual action plan: drawing support from teams, via collective intelligence meetings, define the actions to be put in place in response to the previously identified priority stakes (See Sheet Try it! : Developing a product with an eco-design action at every stage of the life cycle).

Formalise these actions within an annual action plan and prioritise them in keeping with the resources dedicated to their implementation.

Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

Equip the initiative with monitoring indicators: set out objectives, priorities and impacts in terms of monitoring and performance indicators.

Ensure that every indicator is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Acceptable, Realistic, Timeframe-defined) and explain the reporting process (development of the indicator, manager of the indicator, reporting timescale…).

Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

Conduct the annual assessment of the eco-design initiative based on an analysis of indicators: what progression in terms of implementation and what are the results / performances of eco-design actions?

Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

Report on these results during a retrospective and forward-looking meeting with the project team and management in order to define the action plan for the year to come.

Communicate progress to personnel and potentially, to company stakeholders.

Choose the date of my alert to complete this stage

Key indicators

- Number of actions implemented.

- Global impact on the organisation : tonnes of CO2 equivalent avoided, volume of waste, quantity of material consumed per €k of turnover, water consumption, eutrophication…

Watch point

To remove brakes to the commitment, refer to the sheet: Try it! : Convincing my personnel.

To ensure your initiative is solid, refer to the sheet: Try it!: Developing a product with an eco-design action at every stage of the life cycle.

To go one step further

Tool 1 : Managing the launch of an eco-design initiative to improve company competitiveness

Tool 2 : Segmentation template

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What is Eco design?

Eco design is a platform whose purpose is to provide information and assist textile and footwear brands to rise to the eco-design challenge. This platform is a Refashion initiative (formerly Eco TLC), a public authority-approved eco-organisation for the CHF industry (Clothing, Household linen and Footwear).

Our vision: a 100% circular textile and footwear industry.