Design of sustainable products in chile: identifying implementation barriers for small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in the biobio region

Abstract

Global climate change and dwindling natural resources have emphasized the need for system-wide sustainable development, from individual consumer habits to product design and manufacturing. In order to better understand sustainable consumption and production practices in Chile, the present research aims to identify the barriers for the implementtation of sustain ability practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the national manufacturing sector. A preliminary study was carried out using the following three core components: an analysis of sustainable development practices across the world, an analysis of prior research on sustainable consumption in Chile, and finally, fieldwork on SMEs in the Biobio region. The general aim was to identify factors driving local sustainable production. Results show that the main barriers to sustainable development among domestic SMEs include the role of market demand in shaping product manufacturing and the fact that environmental concerns do not influence consumption patterns and/or trends.