ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to contribute to the discussion about how the perspective in product development can be broadened from environmental and health concerns to the field of sustainability. It describes how principles for sustainability and the backcasting methodology can be integrated with a model for product development. The chapter discusses what further research is needed to make this integration more effective for small and medium-sized enterprises. It also discusses the steps in strategic planning towards sustainability. The steps are defining criteria for sustainability, describing the situation in relation to the criteria for sustainability, envisioning and discussing the future situation, and finding strategies towards sustainability. The chapter also describes the structure for the incorporation of sustainability aspects within the process of product development. Simon and Sweatman suggest that 'design for environment' should be distinguished from sustainable product design. The conceptual design step implies a development of the principle solution.
