Inclusion of sustainability aspects in product development – two industrial cases from Sweden

Knowledge on how to include sustainability aspects in product development has increased during the last 25 years. Research has contributed with literature reviews, case studies, and the development of supporting methods, frameworks and guidelines. Despite the large amount of knowledge generated on how to include sustainability aspects in product development, there are few studies that focus on describing how manufacturing companies, in real life, include sustainability aspects in their product development. The aim of this paper is to describe how two manufacturing companies include sustainability aspects in their product development, make a comparison between them, and relate findings with prior studies. To fulfil the aim, a multiple case study at two large Swedish manufacturing companies was conducted. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and by analyzing sustainability reports. This paper provides two novel context-dependent descriptions of how large manufacturing companies include sustainability aspects in their product development. There are several similarities identified between the two companies in this study and descriptions inprior studies of how manufacturing companies include sustainability aspects in their product development. For example, there are manufacturing companies that systematically include sustainability aspects in product development; however, what is systemized differs between the companies.This research suggests that the easier an aspect can be related to the design of the product the more likely the aspect will be considered by actors in the product development function, such as design engineers. Additionally, this research indicates that the product owner is an important internal actor who affects the inclusion of sustainability aspects in product development, and especially the inclusion of sustainability aspects in product requirements. Further studies are suggested on how product owners elicit and prioritize sustainability aspects, how these aspects are formulated ...