Sustainability strategies and their influence on the product development of machine tools and special machines

In the context of product development, the goal of developers is to design products based on a variety of stakeholder needs so that they sufficiently satisfy a wide range of required characteristics. The required properties relate to function, safety, manufacturability, cost, usability, etc. In recent years, sustainability has gained importance as an additional and now indispensable guiding principle in product development due to the rapidly growing global environmental, social and economic challenges. The focus of this paper is on sustainability, which takes into account resource consumption, environmental protection and ecology. The same applies to the circular economy as an essential component of sustainability strategies when it comes to product or material cycles, as well as the targeted repair, reuse, modification, waste prevention and upgrading of products, etc. A product category that is rarely in the public eye is machine tools and special machines. In order to consistently consider sustainability and the associated circular economy in the development of these machines, product developers need practice-oriented and methodically validated decision-making means. The paper discusses and systematizes possible sustainability strategies and their implications from different perspectives, such as business models or applicability.