Three types of approaches to product longevity: a multiple case study of 18 best-practice companies

Product longevity is one of the keys to achieving more sustainable production and consumption patterns. However, in many companies, extending the longevity of products means overcoming several complex barriers. For small and medium sized enterprises, it may be difficult to identify where to start, and the available solutions may seem too complex or radical and therefore may be ignored as viable options. The purpose of this paper is to study how best-practice companies implement product longevity in everyday practices and map the principles of how they engage with product longevity at different stages of the development process, to provide knowledge about the solutions available to companies. We conducted a multiple case study of companies striving to design and produce long-lasting products. Through interviews with developers, CFOs and CEOs from 18 best-practice companies that work systematically with product longevity, we identified three key types of approaches to implementing product longevity: performance-driven approaches, behaviour change-driven approaches, and vision driven approaches. The key approaches forms a baseline for a discussion about companies implementing these types of approaches and their ability to adopt them.