In addition to manufacturing operations, design-thinking is relevant for other business systems as well. The design-for-environment (DfE)
concept that is core to lifecycle analysis and sustainable product
design also has a lot to offer in the design of enterprise business
operations. So let’s expand the ‘design-for’ concept:
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Enterprise systems can be designed to
incorporate responsible waste management and recycling programs from the
inception, with e-waste take-back programs; waste exchanges
for manufacturing by-products that can be bought and sold between
companies within the same geographic area or within the same supplier
network; and through the designing out of hazardous materials in as many
production processes as possible.
Similarly, enterprises can be designed
for social responsibility, by implementing advanced procurement
practices that favor suppliers that don’t use substances of concern,
conflict minerals, and that participate in sustainability scorecard
programs.
Just as with products, it is cheaper,
easier and faster to drive change by designing systems right the first
time, rather than having to go back and fix problems later. Good design
has spurred so much product innovation and competition, especially in
the niche ‘sustainable product’ categories. We can continue to push
large, complex corporate systems to innovate for improved sustainability
by applying these same design-thinking concepts, and build better
companies from the ground up.