Life-cycle design (LCD), the application of life-cycle concepts to the design phase of product development, is emerging as a valuable tool for incorporating environmental impacts and trade-offs as a criterion in product/process design. Because LCD is used as an internal decision-support tool and is often customized to meet firm-specific needs, its strengts, successes and limitations remain largely undocumented. Companies practicing, or inclined to adopt LCD methods have not benefitted from methodological advancements achieved by other firms, and opportunities for cross-fertilization across firms have been limited. An examination of LCD practices at three firms—IBM, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, and Armstrong World Industries, Inc.—provides insight into how these methods evolve, as well as a glimpse into the dynamics of organizational innovation in relation to corporate environmental management. Four ingredients are essential to initiating or sustaining a successful LCD program: 1) a pragmatic, flexible approach that avoids “analysis paralysis”; 2) program buy-in from multiple levels in the company; 3) supplier involvement and information exchange to support material and/or process decisions; and 4) inclusion of staff from various business functions to ensure that LCD is not merely another environmental initiative.