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Why Product Sustainability No Longer Means Choosing Between Speed and Accuracy

2 min read

Sustainability managers face a persistent challenge when assessing the environmental impact of extensive product portfolios, potentially hundreds of thousands of SKUs. Traditionally, this has meant choosing between two approaches: commissioning detailed Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) from consultants for hero products, knowing the process creates expensive static snapshots, or running quick automated assessments across the full range while accepting they will miss crucial details that could undermine carbon reduction strategies and stakeholder confidence.

For years, this has been the reality for businesses pursuing product-level sustainability. The choice between methodological rigour and practical scalability has forced companies into an uncomfortable compromise.

That era is ending.

The Problem with Traditional Approaches

Manual LCAs have earned their reputation for thoroughness. Consultants meticulously map every input, every process, every transport mile. But this precision comes with significant constraints:

  • Scale limitations: Manual approaches can only realistically cover a fraction of large product portfolios
  • Static results: Assessments become outdated as soon as you change suppliers or adjust formulations
  • Resource intensity: The cost and coordination required limits frequency of updates
  • Portfolio gaps: Most companies can only assess their most visible products, missing optimisation opportunities across their full range

Meanwhile, early automated tools promised speed and scale but delivered surface-level insights that sustainability managers couldn't confidently present to stakeholders or use for meaningful decision-making.

Technology Bridges the Gap

Today's leading automated platforms are systematically closing the detail gap between manual and automated assessments. Rather than replacing the rigor of traditional LCAs, these platforms are scaling it, delivering the granular insights businesses need with the speed and efficiency modern sustainability strategies demand.

Proof Point: Complete Packaging System Modelling

A concrete example of this evolution is Sustained's new ability to model a product's entire packaging hierarchy, a capability that demonstrates how automated tools are achieving consultant-level detail.

Previously, assessments focused only on consumer-facing packaging, missing a significant portion of environmental impact. Now, our platform captures:

Multi-Level Transport Packaging: Model up to three additional packaging levels beyond the consumer pack:

  • Level 1: In-store display trays
  • Level 2: Distribution cases holding multiple units
  • Level 3: Shipping pallets with protective wrapping

Precise Impact Allocation: By capturing dimensions and structure at each level, the platform calculates accurate impacts for transport and storage across the supply chain.

Supply Chain Accuracy: Define exactly where each packaging element is removed - whether at distribution centres or retail locations, ensuring waste and transport impacts are allocated to the correct lifecycle stage.

This level of detail was previously only available through manual assessment. Now it's automated, scalable, and updates in real-time as your supply chain evolves.

The Business Impact

This isn't just about technical capability, it's about transforming what's possible for sustainability managers:

  • True portfolio coverage: Assess hundreds of thousands of products in hours, not months
  • Dynamic sustainability management: Update assessments as your supply chain evolves, maintaining current data for decision-making
  • Stakeholder confidence: Present comprehensive data with the methodological rigor that C-suite and external stakeholders expect
  • Strategic agility: Identify hotspots and optimisation opportunities across your entire product range, not just hero products

What This Means for Your Business

The historic compromise between accuracy and scalability is becoming obsolete. As a sustainability manager, you can now:

  • Scale rigorous environmental assessment to your entire product portfolio, even hundreds of thousands of SKUs
  • Maintain up-to-date impact data that reflects current supply chain realities
  • Build comprehensive sustainability strategies based on complete portfolio visibility
  • Focus your time on strategic decision-making rather than data collection limitations

The Journey Continues

We continue to advance toward perfect granularity in automated assessment. With each development, such as comprehensive packaging system modelling, we demonstrate that the traditional trade-off between detail and efficiency no longer needs to constrain sustainability ambitions.

The future of product-level sustainability isn't about choosing between speed and accuracy. It's about having both, at the scale your business demands.

Ready to move beyond the trade-off? Discover how Sustained delivers consultant-level rigor with automated efficiency for your entire product portfolio.