Frank Boons

Mapping the green product development field: engineering, policy and business perspectives

The literature study on which we report here is based on a cross-disciplinary database containing around 650 articles, taken from the engineering, management, and policy studies disciplines. We report on this literature using a model distinguishing between the product development processes as such, and different contexts, such as the company as a whole, the product chain and society. In addition, a distinction is made between empirically informed research and more conceptual work. Confronting the references in the database with this model, we identify several white spots on the map of research on environmental product development. These seem to be the understanding of the use and role of tools on a micro level (within companies), and an understanding of how this micro-level interacts with the macro level (between companies and in public policies). Also, a strategic orientation on the product development process within companies is underdeveloped. We argue that, in order to make an environmental optimisation of resource use and a minimisation of emissions, a systems perspective is necessary, both in research and practice.

Greening products: A framework for product chain management

Diminishing the ecological effects of products has become an important focus of corporate environmental strategies. Based on empirical research by the author and published sources, this paper presents a conceptual framework of six types of product chain management. By looking at several categories of costs and benefits for different actors (suppliers, producers, distributors, consumers) associated with each of these types, the framework focusses on their differential nature. In addition, the diversity in strategies open to each of these actors in the product chain is a main focus of the paper. The use of the framework as an analytical as well as an interventionist tool is discussed.

Levels of Institutional Capacity and Actor Expectations about Industrial Symbiosis: Evidence from the Dutch Stimulation Program 1999-2004

One assumption underlying the work on industrial symbiosis (IS) is that certain social conditions must be fulfilled in order for firms to develop symbiotic linkages. In this article we add depth to this insight by using institutional capacity as an underlying concept for these conditions, and we propose that such capacity influences IS by altering the opportunity set of actors. We then test the assumption on a dataset of 233 projects aiming to develop eco‐industrial parks. We find that the link between institutional capacity and the opportunities for symbiotic linkages perceived by actors is not always present and is more complicated than has been recognized thus far. We discuss potential alternative ways in which institutional capacity might influence IS and present ideas for future research to shed light on this important relationship.

The introduction and dissemination of the industrial symbiosis projects in the Rotterdam Harbour and Industry Complex

The dissemination and implementation of the Industrial Symbiosis projects in the Rotterdam Harbour and Industry Complex can be characterised by break-through projects on the basis of long-term industrial ecology projects. The first 4-year Industrial Symbiosis programme started in 1994 and generated the basis for 15 projects that were further developed in a second 4-year programme that started in 1999 and merged into a 8-years Sustainable Enterprises programme in 2003. This development at the system level is created through the activities of individual organisation in a dynamic, loosely coupled network. The concept of sustainability capabilities is used to analyse the way in which these activities lead to the development of the system.

Connecting levels: a systems view on stakeholder dialogue for sustainability

This paper argues that the sustainable development of production and consumption systems requires the adoption of a systems view by firms and their stakeholders. This perspective enables them to develop and implement through dialogue a vision that takes systemic change as a focus. At the level of individual firms, employing such a systems view requires a number of capabilities that are discussed. Acquiring such capabilities takes place in the process of dialogue, which can be seen as a form of network learning. These capabilities are important to consider in relation to the perspective of material and energy flow methodologies on industrial symbiosis networks.

Boundaries in action: a framework to analyse boundary actions in multifunctional land-use developments:

Abstract One way to achieve more sustainable spatial development and deal with pressures on space is through integrated or multifunctional land use. Achieving effective integration, although attractive, presents governance challenges. One challenge is how to deal with boundaries. Actors from different backgrounds need to coordinate across and manage their boundaries to realise effective integration of land-use functions. We develop a framework to analyse how actors construct, maintain, challenge, and reconstruct boundaries in their (inter)actions, and we apply the framework to a case analysis of a multifunctional development. The analysis shows that, although integration seems to suggest only boundary crossing, actors also actively defend and reconstruct boundaries. We reflect on how the process of achieving effective integration is not only about overcoming boundaries but also about reconstructing and respecting joint boundary demarcations. These demarcations help to create a sense of order and clarity in terms of responsibility and accountability, and hence enable implementation.

Organizing Within Dynamic Ecosystems Conceptualizing Socio-Ecological Mechanisms

This article argues that direct ecological impact needs to be incorporated into research on organizations and the natural environment, as complementary to conceptualizations of ecological impact as a social construction. Building on work in analytical sociology, it proposes to study socio-ecological mechanisms and thus enhance the understanding of processes of organizing within dynamic ecosystems. Three categories of socio-ecological mechanisms are introduced and illustrated with examples. The article concludes with reflections on the expected increase of direct ecological impact on organizations.

Trajectories of Greening: The Diffusion of Green Organizational Routines in the Netherlands, 1986-1995

Abstract In the Netherlands. there has been an ongoing effort by business firms and government organizations to deal with the ecological impact of industrial activities. Over the years. the set of organizational routines that firms employ to deal with their ecological impact is changing. In this article, we analyze first of all the change in this set of routines in the period 1986-1995. Then we address the question by what mechanisms these changes are brought about. Institutional theory provides us with three possible mechanisms (i.e., forms of isomorphism) by which such changes occur. Our analysis suggests that, in addition to these three forms, there are two distinct mechanisms of change. We also suggest that each mechanism leads to a certain kind of organizational change. We thus develop the concept of trajectories of change.

Inventing the intervention: how organizations deal with alternative approaches to eco-management

The concept of translation captures the essence of the way in which innovative ideas diffuse to organizations: rather than being transplanted in the same way in every organization, the idea is reformulated into a shape that fits the adapting organization. For instance, pollution prevention, which consists of a conceptual framework as well as a set of organizational routines, is an idea that is translated by adopting organizations into shapes that can differ substantially. When intervening in organizations to implement the idea of pollution prevention, the intervention strategy should be sensitive to this translation process. In this paper, we will present the cases of two chemical firms who participated in an action research project aimed at diffusing the concept of pollution prevention. The way in which members from each of these organizations (re)acted in this process reveals some important points about organizational change, organizational culture and interventions. In the translation process, organizational members reframe an outside idea into concepts and routines that fit with existing practices. Thus, introducing a radically new concept can result in piecemeal organizational change or even no change at all. Differences in the translation process are not determined by the technologies employed by an organization; it is the organizational culture that seems to be more important. Involving governmental agencies in the intervention strategy complicates the translation process: in addition to the firm, the agencies seek to shape the idea of pollution prevention into concepts and routines that fit their own existing practices. Copyright

Product‐oriented environmental policy and networks: Ecological aspects of economic internationalisation

Environmental policy programmes are finding a new focus in the Netherlands: increasingly programmes are developed that deal with the environmental effects of the production, consumption, and waste activities around a product rather than with the effects of separate production processes. This development, which is also occurring in other European countries, coincides with the process of internationalisation that is currently changing the face of Europe. As this latter process is to a great extent focused on economic activities, it is important to analyse the mutual influence of both developments. This analysis, which gives insight into the positive, as well as problematic aspects, is based on the example of the formulation of the EC‐Directive concerning the control of chemicals, and its implementation in the Netherlands, Germany, and the UK.