Management of Environmental New Product Development

ACCELERATION OF THE SEARCH for environmental excellence is done by managing a ‘holy trinity of challenges’: Public credibility, money making and new product development (Philip Gross, President, NOVON Products, a division of Warner-Lambert; quoted in Piasecki 1995).New products are an important part of environmental marketing, and the focus of environmental new product development (NPD) must be in improving the primary and environmental performance of a product rather than merely introducing cosmetic changes (Peattie 1995). However, the definition of an environmental new product has as yet failed to reach a consensus. Many authors have attempted to define a green product, using a variety of criteria (see Table 1). Coddington (1993) explains that, in developing environmental new product concepts, three sets of issues must be addressed. These are: Concept issues (the new product as a line extension, a reformulation of an existing product, or a completely new product offering)Pipeline issues (the environmental new product's compatibility with current or available production capabilities, as well as with principles of sustainable development)Strategic issues (analysing competitive offerings, positioning a greener product, leveraging brand recognition and developing marketing strategies.