About waste

In 1995, Michael Porter (yes, that Michael Porter) wrote that “every consumption of resources made by a company, if it doesn't go into the final product that is sold on the market, is a loss of efficiency”. And to be honest, that’s really hard to argue against – because one is spending money on a resource that will not add value to the customer. And that’s why one designs for purpose – you should develop your products to maximize the impact (aka value added) to your customer (but not a “nail” beyond it).

Now, there is another really cool dimension about this sentence from Porter. If you look at it with your sustainability lenses on, you find that he could be advocating for circular economy. Because, if I am a company, and I want to take the best out of the circular economy, what I have to do is to try to save resources, or to recover, reuse, recycle the materials that otherwise are going to be lost. If it doesn't go to the final consumer, it doesn't get any value from the market, and is just waste.

In the end, it all starts with design – 80% of a product’s environmental impact is locked there. But also the most of the value one will add to the customer. And it is not a matter of balancing these two things – it is a matter of aligning them.

P.S.- Want an example, look at the great Skip Quick Wash launch all over Europe.