The integration of sustainability and circularity into product realisationis essential for achieving the goals of the green transition. Performance indicatorsare widely recognised as tools for translating strategic objectives into measurableoutcomes, yet their consistent implementation in industrial practice remainslimited. This study explores how sustainability and circularity aspects arecurrently expressed through performance indicators in product realisation andhow practitioners perceive their use. A study consisting of 40 semi-structuredinterviews with eight manufacturing companies was conducted, involvingpractitioners from various functions working within product realisation.Mentioned performance indicators, perceived challenges, and future wishesregarding indicator use were compiled, categorised and analysed. The findingsconfirm that environmental indicators dominate current practice, while social andeconomic dimensions are rarely addressed; circularity is primarily reflectedthrough the principle of reduce. Practitioners highlighted challenges such as thecomplexity of measuring sustainability and circularity aspects and poorintegration, alongside wishes for systematic performance indicator integration,robust tools with reliable data, and improved knowledge.

The manufacturing industry is undergoing a major transformation driven by the need to adopt sustainable and circular practices in product realisation. To manage and evaluate complex transitions, many sectors use maturity models—structured instruments that assess current capabilities and track progress. However, existing instruments rarely integrate both product and production development perspectives. This paper presents the development and application of a holistic maturity instrument tailored to product realisation in manufacturing. We outline its conceptual foundation, assessment criteria, and implementation methodology, and report initial findings from applications across ten manufacturing companies. Results indicate that the integration of sustainability and circularity in product realisation is generally fair, with variation across companies and aspects. Not too surprisingly, perceived knowledge of sustainability was higher than that of circularity among the participating companies. A challenging area appears to be data and information related to sustainability and circularity. Overall, satisfaction with the level of integration of sustainability and circularity aspects in product realisation among the participating companies was mainly neutral, neither dissatisfied nor satisfied. Beyond assessing maturity levels, the instrument fosters reflection and engagement, supporting the complex transition. We argue that the instrument has potential as a boundary object, facilitating dialogue, shared understanding, and collaboration across organisational functions and stakeholders.

Conventional research typically adheres to established disciplinary methodologies, whereas transdisciplinary research demands a more flexible and adaptable approach. This paper presents and discusses a work procedure developed and successfully implemented to support collaboration and progress in a large-scale 4-year research project. The work procedure integrates the overall principles from interactive research with the structure of the design research methodology (DRM) framework. The focus here is on the potential of the developed work procedure to support transdisciplinary engineering research. We specifically investigate to what degree the requirements of relevant transdisciplinary research processes are met, i.e., the ability to a) understand and manage complexity, b) incorporate diverse perspectives, c) link abstract and practice-oriented knowledge for implementation and d) develop descriptive, normative, and practical knowledge. Several principles essential to fulfilling the requirements and succeeding with transdisciplinary research were encouraged and supported. Therefore, integrating knowledge from collaborative research, industry-academia partnerships and engineering design could be a promising strategy to strengthen transdisciplinary engineering research. We propose that the suggested work procedure, together with the identified best practices, could serve as support in this context as a transdisciplinary engineering research framework.

The European Green Deal aims for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, including economic growth decoupled from resource use. Extended product life cycles, new user scenarios, circular manufacturing, and emerging technologies will increase the complexity of products and production systems. At the same time, the potential to implement solutions that support sustainability and circularity in products and production systems is largely determined during the product realisation process. But what do sustainability and circularity imply for product realization in practice? A group of manufacturing industry representatives raised this question, which became the starting point for a series of workshops that mixed different companies and researchers, along with company-specific meetings where core industrial challenges and research issues were identified for a longer timeframe. The discussion with the companies combined with a state-of-the-art review supported the development of four major research themes: 1. requirements management and platform development, 2. product and production information management, 3. product and production development and solutions, and 4. common understanding and knowledge integration.

To successfully integrate sustainability and circularity aspects into the product realisation process, academia and industry need to mobilise. The four themes constitute the foundation for the research agenda in an eight-year research program, GRACE - Green Transition through integrated and platform-enabled product realisation. The scope of these themes and the united industrial and scientific challenges have been defined, resulting in three initial research projects. This work introduces the four themes, the three initial research projects, and the main challenges and expectations among the eleven manufacturing companies participating in the recently started research program.

This study introduces a four-step boundary object assessment framework designed to support knowledge integration in product realization. The framework helps select the most suitable boundary object for various contexts, facilitating effective knowledge integration. Developed through transdisciplinary engineering research, including close collaboration between practitioners and researchers, the framework consolidates fragmented research, identifies key boundary object properties, and aligns them with situational complexity. It provides a structured approach to assessing and managing boundary objects, meeting four key criteria: stimulating collaboration, practical applicability, comprehensiveness, adaptability, and supporting organizational learning. The framework is practical and user-friendly, enabling managers to select and implement boundary objects that enhance teamwork and decision-making in complex product realization scenarios. This paper contributes to the literature on knowledge integration in product realization.

The green transition necessitates manufacturing companies to address climate change and incorporate sustainable and resilient solutions into their production. The best opportunity to achieve such solutions in production is during development, especially in greenfield projects with fewer constraints from existing production solutions. So far, the knowledge of how to achieve this is limited. Therefore, this paper aims to elaborate on how manufacturing companies can attain sustainable and resilient production. The focus is on development practices in greenfield projects and their relation to active ownership, collaboration and learning, potentially supporting the lasting impact of change initiatives.

The paper builds on results from a multiple case study, including three greenfield production development projects. A research design, involving 22 semi-structured interviews and four workshops, was applied. An analytical framework was developed to support the analysis, including active ownership, collaboration and learning. In total, 21 different development practices were identified and categorised into active ownership, collaboration, and learning. The paper contributes a new perspective on production development. As an alternative to the traditional planning-and-control perspective, a learning perspective on production development was applied, which is increasingly required for production development processes addressing new domains, such as the green transition.

One of the main challenges for the manufacturing industry is the transition to sustainable product realisation practices, where a circular approach is a potential element. In a recently started research project aiming at roadmaps for required development in product realisation to support future sustainability and circularity scenarios for the manufacturing industry, the first step, current state analysis, has recently been completed. The purpose of this paper is to present the results from this analysis together with the approach developed and applied to perform the current state analysis.

Data was collected through a combination of company internal work (“company homework”), a maturity assessment exercise (carried out as a questionnaire) and a workshop. The data collection instruments covered seven sub-areas, all related to sustainability and circularity: management and organisation (1), 2. knowledge and competence development (2), integration of sustainability and circularity in product development and production development (3,4), supplier selection and logistics (5), existing production (6) and finally, data and information management (7). Twelve business units participated in the study, and the results indicate a varied level of maturity. Findings show that moving from intention to action required structured approaches. Strengths include effective collaboration within and between functions, organisations, and actors, fostering problem-solving and learning. Challenges included inadequate data quality and system support for information management. A lack of awareness, competence gaps in emerging areas, a lack of ability to balance long-term development with daily operations, and a lack of guiding policies were obstacles. Moreover, sustainability was not perceived to be consistently prioritised in supplier selection and packaging decisions. Addressing these challenges requires systematic approaches and strategic direction across the value chain.

A challenge in product realisation, involving several functions and individuals with various specialisation, is knowledge integration. The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of how and when boundary objects can enable knowledge integration in a product realisation contex. Examples of possible boundary objects in the context of product realisation are engineering drawings and prototypes. Boundary objects are situational, meaning that an object may function as boundary object in one situation, but not in another. It is therefore essential to understand under what circumstances you can expect an object to function as a boundary object. Based on literature and the results from empirical studies, a four-step process assessing the potential of an object to function as a boundary object in a specific situation was developed. The suggested ´boundary object assessment process´ can be a way for manufacturing companies to achieve awareness of how, for example, engineering drawings or prototypes can be used to their full potential as boundary objects. Furthermore the ´boundary object assessment process´ contributes to theory on knowledge integration in product realisation, through the compilation of existing but fragmented evidence on boundary object applications. In addition, boundary objects have the potential to integrate knowledge between disciplines, i.e., supporting transdisciplinary work, and through the suggested ´boundary object assessment process´ the possibility to succeed with this may increase.

This paper explores specifically designed workshops, referred to as Knowledge Sharing Sessions (sessions), emphasizing their transdisciplinary nature. These sessions serve as convergence points for academia and industry to collaborate and integrate knowledge, addressing complex concepts such as boundary crossing and boundary objects. The sessions comprised two types: six theory-driven sessions led by researchers, discussing theoretical concepts related to boundary crossing and boundary objects, and four practice-driven sessions led by practitioners, focusing on the means and objects employed by their respective companies to cross boundaries between disciplines in product realisation. These sessions involved three researchers and practitioners from five large and medium-sized manufacturing companies in the Swedish industry. During the sessions, practitioners found themselves challenged by researchers to grasp and reflect upon complex concepts, while researchers faced the task of operationalizing intricate concepts like boundary objects, making them accessible and understandable for practitioners. Expanding such insights can empower practitioners to strategically design objects that effectively serve as boundary objects, thus facilitating the crossing of boundaries between disciplines. Based on the experiences gained from these sessions, the design appears relevant to strengthen transdisciplinary engineering efforts.

To achieve relevant research results, collaborative research is deemed essential in several engineering and management disciplines. When the addressed research questions are associated with larger societal challenges the need for collaboration between various actors and disciplines becomes even more urgent. In this paper, the development of a transdisciplinary research initiative aiming at supporting long-term ability for the manufacturing industry to succeed with the green transition, is described. The transdisciplinary research programme ´GRACE - Green acceleration through integrated and platform-enabled product realisation´ is an eight-year project (4+4 years), involving eleven manufacturing industries and four industrial networks. The research programme GRACE is the result of a close collaboration between industrial partners and academic researcher for almost one year. We have through workshops and various meetings jointly formulated a research agenda, based on eight research issues: (1) requirement specification and management, (2) platform principles and lifecycle strategies on different system levels, (3,4) product design and production solutions supporting circular strategies, (5,6) product and production information management, (7) shared understanding and visions, and (8) knowledge integration, operationalisation and implementation. Based on these research issues, and the priorities among the industrial partners, three initial research projects have been developed. The development of the research programme applied a co-production process, including a distinct pre-project phase. The creation of the transdisciplinary programme GRACE required trust among the involved partners, an open atmosphere, structure, joint understanding among the participants, time to read and think, and some stubbornness.