Development of a Toolbox for the Implementation of Sustainability in the Product Development Processes at Grundfos Holding A/S

Grundfos, one of the world’s leading pump manufacturers, has been actively engaged in sustainability integration into its business over the last decades. This paper presents the approach followed by the company to develop a toolbox that aims to systematically integrate sustainability into the processes for strategic planning, frontloading and product development, following a life cycle approach.

The methodology for development, validation and implementation of the toolbox was based on an action research framework, leading to the development of a tailored approach according to Grundfos’ culture and internal processes. The main elements and tools of the SPS toolbox and key learnings within its development are presented in this paper, which can inspire companies in the approach to be followed when developing, customizing and developing new tools for integrating sustainability in their business processes.