We help product-based businesses identify sustainability hotspots, assess trade-offs and make confident, evidence-based, insight driven decisions which increase brand value and align with the circular economy
Whether you’re starting from scratch, want to understand what you should be focusing on, or are looking to create more circularity in your business, we can help. Drawing on 25 years of expertise we help companies to reduce uncertainty around sustainable innovation, identify the best opportunities, evaluate whether the ‘obvious solution’ is genuinely the best one and navigate trade-offs with confidence.
Sustainable Product Innovation for the Circular Economy
Working across durable goods and FMCG packaging our core sustainable innovation services include:
EVALUATION
Identifying environmental hotspots, identifying risks, exploring trade-offs and uncovering opportunities that create genuine commercial and environmental value
Activities include:
- Using our abridged product carbon footprinting (PCF) methodology to identify environmental ‘hotspots’ and support strategic decision making.
- Sustainability analysis of design concepts, products, packaging, and services
- Qualitative analysis to evaluate softer design features such as usability, customer experience, aesthetics, clarity of communication
- In-house ‘quick and dirty’ carbon modelling to support go / no-go decision making
FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT
Exploring whether sustainable and circular opportunities are commercially and operationally realistic before significant investment is made
For example:
- Systems mapping to evaluate circular opportunities in the product supply chain and across the product lifecycle
- Research and evaluation to explore whether remanufacture is a feasible business model within current constraints
CROSS-SECTOR BENCHMARKING
Understanding how competitors and parallel industries approach similar sustainability challenges.
For example:
- Competitor analysis
- Landscape mapping to learn from best practice in parallel industries
STRATEGIC SUSTAINABILITY INSIGHT
Research led insight generation to support better sustainability and innovation decisions
For example:
- Deep dives into specific topics to support circularity/sustainability across the product lifecycle
- Innovation tracking (materials, processes, end of life) to inform R&D, procurement, and support investment opportunities.
The challenges you might be facing
Our clients work across a wide range of sectors and their needs are wide ranging, but these are some of the common areas they want help with…
Identifying environmental ‘hotspots’ for their product
How to reduce the carbon impact of an existing product or pack
Upskilling staff so that they have a shared language and understanding around sustainability
Research into materials and processes with specific technical capabilities
How to embed circularity into their business model and supply chain
Concepts comparison to identify which has the lowest carbon impact
Feasibility assessment
How to communicate sustainability achievements without greenwashing
Removing single use plastic from packaging to meet new legislation
Identifying the best ‘quick wins’ for in their products and packaging
Sustainable Innovation consultancy
Choosing to work with an independent consultancy offers many benefits:
– 25 years of experience supporting the development of the circular economy
– Broad cross sectoral industry knowledge
– Expertise on a par with large consulting firms, but at a lower cost
– Quicker turnaround on results
– Project based, fractional or retainer based support to suit your needs
– Access to a wide network of sustainability specialists