The project Integration of environment and economy in product development gives opportunity for innovations (IMP) has intended to strengthen the long-term competitiveness of the manufacturing industry through a pro-active risk management considering environmental and sustainability aspects, and to stimulate to significant eco-innovation and not merely to incremental changes. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) describes the use of natural resources and emissions of a product or service in quantitative terms throughout its life cycle. Monetization of the LCA results means that an economic value is assigned to the different impacts that are covered within an LCA. This implies that a price is placed on the effects of different environmental damages. The IMP project has aimed to contribute to more efficient product development by further developing, testing and establishing the Environmental Priority Strategy methodology (EPS) which makes environmental costs more visible early in the product development phase. It has also aimed at facilitating a change from a reactive to a proactive product development strategy with regards to environment and sustainability. In addition, it has aimed to contribute to the innovation process by making environmental and sustainability data more readily available.
The project Integration of environment and economy in product development gives opportunity for innovations (IMP) has intended to strengthen the long-term competitiveness of the manufacturing industry through a pro-active risk management considering environmental and sustainability aspects, by developing methodologies for calculating the economic value of reduced environmental impacts from products, early in the product development phase.