ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the Stage-Gate process and gives concrete recommendations for how it can be adapted to achieve sustainable new product development (SNPD). It explains the relationship between sustainability and new products. The chapter identifies the barriers to introducing sustainability thinking in new product development (NPD). It discusses an approach for overcoming these barriers and integrating sustainability into NPD. The additional stakeholders in SNPD are legislators and even activists. It is advisable for companies to listen and understand these groups' perspectives during NPD, although this is challenging. Organisations need to make significant modifications to NPD processes to achieve sustainable innovation. NPD processes need to be changed to take full account of sustainability. Traditionally, there has been a strong emphasis in NPD on both company-internal stakeholders and the customer. The consideration of sustainability in NPD has several elements: a broader consideration of customer needs; planning for post-use; and ensuring that the supply chain is effective.
