VTT: Indicators and methods of sustainable development one-sided
The European SustainValue research project coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland develops new types of tools for sustainable industrial development. According to Senior Scientist Teuvo Uusitalo of VTT, the methods and indicators used at present entail risks, since they tend to over-emphasise the economic perspective and that of individual companies.
“Methods are required that take the social and environmental impacts of business operations better into account, both within the company and among its network of partners and stakeholders,” says Uusitalo. “If a change cannot be effected, the current unsustainable way of life will continue, and we might also miss some opportunities for creating new business. Market share is at stake here.”
According to Uusitalo, other companies and customers demand that companies take a wider view of sustainable development.
“Legislation will also inevitably lead development in this direction. Environmental requirements, for example, are becoming stricter by the year. Leading European companies have grasped the situation, but the rest are only just beginning to wake up.”
Business networks that take into account sustainable development create lasting added value. However, companies have lacked concrete tools for ensuring that their partners are acting according to the same principles of sustainable development. The SustainValue project, coordinated by VTT, has now created such tools. The tools can be used to demonstrate where value is being created and where it is being destroyed.
A networked way of thinking is the key innovation of the SustainValue project. A design method that will help develop and measure the sustainability of products and services is already being piloted by companies. Here, too, the method focuses on networks and the complete life cycles of products. In the end, selling comprehensive solutions might be more worthwhile than selling products.
Another tool created by the project is one that illustrates through visual means the creation of value. This method reveals the positive and negative values that a company's business operations produce for its stakeholders, among others.
“We are also developing a set of indicators for assessing the economic, social and environmental impacts of business in the entire network of stakeholders and partners,” says Uusitalo. “The indicators that as such are currently applied to the evaluation of sustainability impacts are inappropriate for assessing the impacts of networked activities.”
Another important objective of the project is to transfer the results into European standardization.
With the help of reliable indicators, companies can communicate to their customers that their actions are in line with the principles of sustainable development.
The SustainValue project, which launched in 2011 and will end in 2014, belongs to the EU's 7th Framework Programme. In addition to VTT, European universities, research institutes, a national standards body and companies participate in the project. The partners of the project are Politecnico di Milano (IT), University of Cambridge (UK), University of Stavanger (NO), Research Institute for Operations Management at RWTH Aachen University (DE), DIN, The German Institute of Standardization (DE), FIDIA S.p.A (IT), Riversimple LLP (UK), CLAAS (DE) and Elcon Solutions Oy (FI).
Project website: http://www.sustainvalue.eu/index.htm
“The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community´s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n°262931.”
Further information:
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Teuvo Uusitalo
Senior Scientist
Tel. + 358 40 835 6643
teuvo.uusitalo@vtt.fi
Further information on VTT:
Sakari Sohlberg, Manager, External Communications
Tel. 358 20 722 6744
sakari.sohlberg@vtt.fi
www.vtt.fi
VTT - 70 years of technology for business and society
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is a leading multitechnological applied research organization in Northern Europe. VTT creates new technology and science-based innovations in co-operation with domestic and foreign partners. VTT’s turnover is EUR 290 million and itspersonnel totals 3,100.
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