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Excerpts from a discussion with Thunderbird Professor Gregory C. Unruh on Earth, Inc., which Harvard Business Press released this week to coincide with Earth Day 2010.
Q. The palette of raw materials that humans use in manufacturing keeps expanding, not shrinking. What will it take to reverse this trend?
A. We need to recognize that proliferation of materials — while it allows us to create new applications and technology — goes against one of the fundamental principles that makes the biosphere sustainable. It limits what we can do when we start thinking about sustainability.
Q. How can a manufacturing company simplify its palette of raw materials without losing its competitive edge?
A. It requires the managers and design teams to start asking new questions. The old question is: What material is the best material to build this product and meet the performance requirements? The new question is: How can I build that product using this limited number of materials? Oftentimes, designers will balk at any constraints on their creativity. But as Jeff Bezos the creator of Amazon.com, says: Constraints are the way you drive innovation. Only when you’re put in a box can you figure your way out of it.
Q. How can small manufacturers with limited research and development budgets simplify their palettes of raw materials?
A. Frequently, smaller manufacturers are part of the supply chain to larger companies. When larger companies want to become more sustainable, they often go back to their suppliers and say: You have to help us meet this goal. Smart suppliers see this as an opportunity, not a restriction. If they can help solve the company’s problem, they’re in a better position to be a more valuable partner.
Companies like Wal-Mart have made a commitment to become sustainable. But Wal-Mart doesn’t produce anything.
By their own estimate, 90 percent of sustainability solutions lie outside the company gates with their suppliers. The only way Wal-Mart can become sustainable is by building a sustainable supply chain. So far Wal-Mart has rewarded suppliers that can respond with larger orders and longer contracts.
Q. What can service companies do to apply the rule of parsimony, or “less is more”?
A. The biggest opportunity for service companies lies in the energy they use – to be more efficient in their service processes. You can think of parsimony in terms of materials, but you can also think of it in terms of the steps you need to deliver a service.
Service companies can also use their purchasing power to try to influence the types of products that manufacturers produce.
Q. Would a strategy of planned obsolescence make sense for a company that hasn’t yet learned how to “cycle up”?
A. No. That would be unplanned obsolescence. Their products are going to become obsolete, they just haven’t planned what they’re going to do with them. They’re going to let someone else take care of it, and that’s usually the customer who has this obsolete computer or television or bed – and they have to get rid of it. Every product should have some type of planned obsolescence built into it.
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