Does sustainability have to be a design criterion in the original development of a product for it to be competitive? This is a dilemma facing many companies today: how to incorporate sustainability concepts into an existing product designs and manufacturing process without increasing cost.In our professional consulting, we use “The Red Pen” as one example to illustrate the cost of sustainability and the impact on alternative product prices.
Imagine that you are operating a business that makes black pens, and you have become very efficient at making black pens. Your black pens are of high quality and are very competitively priced in the pen market. Then one day consumers change their preferences and only want red pens. This is going to be a significant change in your process. You are going to have to retool, get new materials, and new suppliers. Over time, you will become just as efficient at producing the red pen, but initially you are going to have to invest more to make the change. So do you charge more for the pen or seek to be competitively priced and capture more red pen buyers?
Like in the “Red Pen Example”, access to information and growing consumer eco awareness has cause a shift in consumer preferences. Sustainability expectations and a desire for alternative products is driving change. The consumer is defining the products and services they want available, and businesses have to retool to maintain and capture market share.
By incurring the initial cost to incorporate sustainability concepts into existing business products and process, leading companies are aligning with market expectations and positioning their business to capture additional sales.
At Taiga Company, our professional consulting works with clients to understand that the initial investment in moving towards business sustainability (that first red pen) may be significant; however, the ongoing cost of doing business can remain the same. Business sustainability is a continuous improvement effort to respond to the changing dynamics in the market and consumer expectations that will lead to long-term business value.
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