Showing papers by "Oksana Mont published in 2008"

Product-Service Systems: Panacea or Myth?

Abstract: Life cycle environmental problems have been addressed by a number of strategies. However, the results are mostly lamentable because solutions are searched for within the same paradigms that give rise to the problems. This research questions the vision of linear material growth and searches for ways to sustain economic growth without putting the natural environment under stress. The research explores the concept of product-service systems as a strategy for reducing life cycle environmental impacts. It shows how the concept has evolved, defines a product-service system with sustainability criteria and presents a framework for evaluating and developing product-service sys-tems. The research also explores drivers, barriers and opportunities for companies to shift towards providing use value through product-service systems. The importance of public policy and normative institutions in promoting more sustainable consumption and production patterns is inves-tigated. An environmental and economic evaluation of scenarios of systems of shared use for do-it-yourself tools and garden-care equipment is pre-sented and complemented with an actor analysis. Conceptual and company-level conditions that affect the environmental profile of product-service systems are discussed. It is concluded that the PSS concept has a certain environmental potential dependant not only on how the system is organ-ised, but also on the institutional and socio-cultural context.

Innovative approaches to optimising design and use of durable consumer goods

Abstract: The classical market economy provided basis for emergence of a throwaway society that is based on economies of scale, planned obsolescence and growing demand for new products. This society is clearly unsustainable. An alternative model is the so-called circular economy based on optimised product life span, extended services and remanufacturing activities. The aim of this paper is to understand the complexity of the product durability discourse from environmental and economic perspectives and from the viewpoint of different stakeholders and to discuss innovative strategies for achieving product durability by maximising utilisation rate and improving value of durable products for users.

Chemical Management Services in Sweden and Europe: Lessons for the Future

Abstract: The number and diversity of chemicals produced and used in society today are growing in conjunction with the both evident and uncertain environmental impacts associated with the life cycles of these chemicals. Chemical management services (CMS) is a business strategy based on a strategic, long-term contract, according to which the supplier of chemical management services accepts the responsibility for managing chemicals and strives to reduce the associated costs and risks. This strategy also has the potential for reducing the environmental impacts of chemicals. This article provides an overview of the existing advantages and barriers for CMS providers and customers in the European context identifies conflicts of interest between them, and highlights important lessons regarding the role of CMS in shaping these markets. It reports on findings from interviews with European chemical producers and other stakeholders of chemical management services and is directed toward industry professionals interested in chemical management services. It concludes that economic and environmental advantages of CMS are not automatically guaranteed and lists factors that are critical for developing a win-win CMS for both providers and customers. Finally, ways of fostering CMS dissemination in Europe are suggested. (Less)

An analysis of a product service system in Bolivia: coffee in Yungas

Abstract: The concept of Product-Service Systems (PSS) was suggested as one of the solutions to address the increasing levels of production and consumption. It advocates the view that sustainability can be reached if all elements of the system are optimised from economic, environmental and social perspectives. Lately, we have seen the proliferation of examples of PSS in Western countries, driven by market and legislative pressures. On the other hand, there are still very few cases from developing countries that are described and analysed. It is therefore useful to investigate whether the PSS concept is of value for non-Western countries and how the existing cases are shaped in a different context. This article analyses the case of coffee production in Bolivia from the PSS perspective. It is demonstrated that the shift to the shared ownership of equipment had not only economic but also environmental and social implications and led to an improved quality of life in the community.

Gaining legitimacy in contemporary world: environmental and social activities of organisations

Abstract: This article investigates the links between environmental and social activities of organisations and organisational legitimacy. The recent overemphasis on the business case for voluntary environmental and social activities of organisations is undermining the attention to other drivers such as legitimacy concerns. Previous literature has discussed how the principle of legitimacy may underpin corporate environmental and social performance providing motives for managers to pursue corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies. In this article, we tried to advance questions that relate more to how CSR activities could potentially influence legitimation efforts of organisations. We focused on two main issues. The first is how CSR activities play into the different legitimation efforts of organisations at cognitive and socio-political levels. The second issue identifies potential variations in organisational choices of CSR activities as legitimation efforts and the conditions that influence these differences as constructs for further empirical research.