Executing Sustainable Business in Practice—A Case Study on How to Support Sustainable Investment Decisions

Too often, B2B negotiations only look at the purchasing cost and do not take the costs and effects on the environment of the whole life cycle of the product into account. Products that have less impact on the environment often have a higher purchasing price. It is generally believed that when a customer can see the estimates of the use period costs, he can accept the higher purchasing price more easily. This paper describes a practical LCC tool developed for life cycle cost calculations and how this kind of tool can be used by manufacturers in developing their own product portfolios and selling their products. For manufacturers, LCC calculations can reveal weak points of their solutions. In negotiations with customers, the LCC calculation indicates the kind of value they will obtain in the long run and guides them to choose products that cause less harm to the environment and have financial benefits.