**Abstract**

This book chapter explores the uptake of environmental sustainability in the front end of an innovation process, and the outcome of this stage: the design brief. The study is based on a content analysis of 80 design briefs from Belgian enterprises, a focus group with representatives from 14 Belgian companies and an in-depth interview with two Belgian chief executives. The results show an overview of the most and least used environmental sustainability strategies in the design brief and demonstrate a remarkable difference in uptake between large enterprises and small and mediumsized enterprises. Findings show that companies often deal with sustainability on a hidden and decomposed level. Furthermore, a generic model for the design brief process is presented with the different entry points for sustainability. Crucial factors for integrating environmental sustainability in the design brief are discussed in the last section. The paper concludes with a recommendation to integrate ecodesign targets in the design brief and discussing them with the decision makers in all the stages of the design briefing process. With no environmental commitment in the design brief towards the final product, no time, budgets, and staff will be allocated on this subject during the operational stage.

**Keywords:** design brief, sustainable product innovation, ecodesign, front end innovation, strategic innovation management, new product development

### **1. Introduction**

The very early phase in the innovation process, the so-called front end of innovation (FEI), is often described as being the root of success for any company hoping to compete on the basis of innovation [1]. It is the phase with the largest impact on the end result of the project [1, 2] and the highest payback to one's investments [2]. It is in this phase that companies set their targets and determine which products will pass to further development. The outcome of that process is usually reflected in the design brief [3]. The decisions made in the front end (FE) and the design brief influence all the later phases of the innovation process.

This chapter argues that the uptake of sustainability in design projects would be far more effective if sustainability aspects are written down in the design brief, providing guidance to the design, engineering, marketing, and management team.

Till now, there is limited understanding of how to best bring environmental considerations into the design brief. FEI is a hot research topic, but its relationship with the design briefing process in the FE and design for sustainability has received much less attention in literature and practice. There are a number of tools available to guide designers, engineers, and managers in the design process after the specifications of the product or service are already set, but methods supporting goal finding for sustainable innovations are rare [4].

This book chapter describes a first exploratory study to fill this gap. The research aims at gaining understanding on how environmental sustainability is integrated in the strategic stage of an innovation process, the so-called FE, and the design briefing process. The first part is based on a literature review and elaborates the FE and what is meant by a design brief. The second part looks to the current practice of integrating environmental considerations in a design brief and the FE. Different research results are described and discussed in the penultimate section. The chapter concludes with recommendations for future research.
