Initiatives have been taken within companies, but there has also been co-operation between companies, for example, to set up a common LCA methodology for this purpose. The product developments are taking place in the context of rapidly changing technological surroundings. The question is how to take into account the economic and environmental costs of such a destructive transition phase.
New concepts require close co-operation with other stakeholders in the chain.
This co-operation refers not only to standard supply chain management, but also to the supply of new services and creating infrastructures, which contribute to drastically improved environmental performance. Furthermore, one needs to be relatively certain that the new design is significantly better than existing products when drastic changes and large investments are involved. Methods for such an assessment are largely lacking. At the same time, the consumer electronics industry in Europe is confronted with increasing responsibility as to the environmental impact of its products, including the take back of products at the end of their service life. Different European countries are tackling the take back issue differently, and in none of these cases has organisation been based on a systematic analysis of the resultant environmental benefits.