Offering Carbon Smart Options through Product Development to Meet Customer Expectations

Diana Blagu, Denisa Szabo, Diana Dragomir (), Călin Neamțu and Daniela Popescu
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Diana Blagu: Department of Design Engineering and Robotics, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Denisa Szabo: Department of Design Engineering and Robotics, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Diana Dragomir: Department of Design Engineering and Robotics, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Călin Neamțu: Department of Design Engineering and Robotics, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Daniela Popescu: Department of Design Engineering and Robotics, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 16, 1-21

Abstract: Addressing the global threat of climate change is one of the present priorities of both companies and their customers. Societal trends demand a significant change in consumer behavior in the foreseeable future to contribute to the reduction in carbon emissions reaching the atmosphere, and national and international governments are committing their resources and efforts to this complex endeavor. The current paper addresses the other side of this conundrum, which is how firms can propose carbon-smart alternatives for their products on the market, in order to match the growing interest and the changing behaviors of the consumers. For this purpose, a research and innovation methodology is proposed to expand the design for concept X, namely, the design for sustainability set of guidelines in the area of developing products with a reduced carbon footprint under conditions of timeliness and economic viability. The research is based on refining practical experience and the use of consecrated management techniques and is validated through the employment of a Delphi-based forecasting process. The authors conclude that the large-scale adoption of such recommendations for the various domains of the manufacturing sector has the potential to contribute to climate change mitigation significantly.

Keywords: low-carbon economy; new product development; consumer behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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