Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, today announced the creation of a new enterprise wide eco-innovation initiative aimed at evaluating its products using a lifecycle assessment.  

Nick Lappos, sr. vice president of XworX, Bell's research and development organization said, "Bell is committed to becoming world class in reducing the environmental impact of our products, for our customers, our employees, our shareholders and our planet."  

Craig Lieberman, a Textron Six Sigma black belt at Bell has been appointed to lead this effort and he said, "We have started to evaluate our products and operations via a lifecycle assessment to determine the total impact of our manufacturing efforts with the goal of a substantial reduction in all areas."  

A lifecycle assessment follows the total production process from mining of the raw materials, to manufacturing and finally the aircraft end of life. Bell's new 429 is the first to be evaluated and Bell expects results later this year.  The 429's eco-friendly features include low noise that meets stage 3 noise standards, fuel consumption reduction and the significant use of composites to reduce the overall weight of the aircraft.  

Bell is committed to developing and sustaining processes and products that will establish Bell as a leader on this issues stated Lappos.