Environmental performance of products: Benchmarks and tools for measuring improvement

Increasingly, manufacturers and service providers face the challenge of improving the environmental performance of their products. A number of studies have shown the importance of environmental goals and measures for successful environmental design efforts in firms. This paper provides a framework of environmental goals or benchmarks and examines Sony Corporation as a case study of improving the environmental performance of products. Specific examples of Sony's targets for improvement are provided along with examples of initiatives for their achievement. In particular, Sony's product assessment check sheet is introduced as a simple yet effective tool for identifying areas for environmental improvement, as well as for measuring and promoting improvement efforts in alignment with the organization's longer‐term environmental goals.