Ecodesign Implementation

Stakeholders such as environmental directives and customer demands for reducing environmental impacts of a product require innovative and environmentally improved products. Therefore a systematic approach and effective methods and tools are needed in the early phase of product development. The basic elements for optimized process management in the design department are described in this book. The book provides twelve easy to follow steps for implementing ECODESIGN in a company. It gives clear advice how to integrate environmental considerations into product design and development, and combines ECODESIGN with Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Communication. Chapters on Product modeling, Life Cycle Assessment, ECODESIGN tasks, Product Improvement and Environmental Communication use the previously developed ECODESIGN PILOT (www.ecodesign.at/pilot) and show its application to a real product example. The book comes with two web tools: one is the ECODESIGN PILOT, used to find measures to environmentally improve a product within a short time. The other is the ECODESIGN PILOT's Assistant (www.ecodesign.at/assist): an expert system, which helps to find the right improvement strategy for a product. Audience: This book will be of interest to environmental and sustainability managers, engineers in research and product development, to designers, environmental experts, and consultants, as well as to students working in this field.

Stakeholders such as environmental directives and customer demands for reducing environmental impacts of a product require innovative and environmentally improved products. Therefore a systematic approach and effective methods and tools are needed in the early phase of product development. The basic elements for optimized process management in the design department are described in this book. The book provides twelve easy to follow steps for implementing ECODESIGN in a company. It gives clear advice how to integrate environmental considerations into product design and development, and combines ECODESIGN with Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Communication. Chapters on Product modeling, Life Cycle Assessment, ECODESIGN tasks, Product Improvement and Environmental Communication use the previously developed ECODESIGN PILOT (www.ecodesign.at/pilot) and show its application to a real product example. The book comes with two web tools: one is the ECODESIGN PILOT, used to find measures to environmentally improve a product within a short time. The other is the ECODESIGN PILOT's Assistant (www.ecodesign.at/assist): an expert system, which helps to find the right improvement strategy for a product. Audience This book will be of interest to environmental and sustainability managers, engineers in research and product development, to designers, environmental experts, and consultants, as well as to students working in this field.

In order to meet the challenges of sustainable production, industries have more responsibility in controlling product-related environmental aspects throughout the whole life cycle of a product, since industrial products have potentially larger impacts than on-site emissions. This book looks at Ecodesign as a special form of product management, integratable into Total Live Cycle Management.

Stakeholders such as environmental directives and customer demands for reducing environmental impacts of a product require innovative and environmentally improved products. Therefore a systematic approach and effective methods and tools are needed in the early phase of product development. The basic elements for optimized process management in the design department are described in this book. The book provides twelve easy to follow steps for implementing ECODESIGN in a company. It gives clear advice how to integrate environmental considerations into product design and development, and combines ECODESIGN with Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Communication. Chapters on Product modeling, Life Cycle Assessment, ECODESIGN tasks, Product Improvement and Environmental Communication use the previously developed ECODESIGN PILOT (www.ecodesign.at/pilot) and show its application to a real product example. The book comes with two web tools: one is the ECODESIGN PILOT, used to find measures to environmentally improve a product within a short time. The other is the ECODESIGN PILOT's Assistant (www.ecodesign.at/assist): an expert system, which helps to find the right improvement strategy for a product. Audience: This book will be of interest to environmental and sustainability managers, engineers in research and product development, to designers, environmental experts, and consultants, as well as to students working in this field.

This book is a uniquely pedagogical while still comprehensive state-of-the-art description of LCA-methodology and its broad range of applications. The five parts of the book conveniently provide: I) the history and context of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with its central role as quantitative and scientifically-based tool supporting society’s transitioning towards a sustainable economy; II) all there is to know about LCA methodology illustrated by a red-thread example which evolves as the reader advances; III) a wealth of information on a broad range of LCA applications with dedicated chapters on policy development, prospective LCA, life cycle management, waste, energy, construction and building, nanotechnology, agrifood, transport, and LCA-related concepts such as footprinting, ecolabelling,design for environment, and cradle to cradle. IV) A cookbook giving the reader recipes for all the concrete actions needed to perform an LCA. V) An appendix with an LCA report template, a full example LCA report serving as inspiration for students who write their first LCA report, and a more detailed overview of existing LCIA methods and their similarities and differences.

Due to current consumption and production patterns of products, pressure on already constrained natural resources, an increasing global population, increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and reduced access to clean water globally, studying manufacturing companies’ inclusion of sustainability aspects in their product development becomes important. The aim of this thesis is to expand current knowledge on the inclusion of sustainability aspects in product development at manufacturing companies. More specifically, the expansion of current knowledge covers how manufacturing companies include sustainability aspects in product development, the challenges manufacturing companies may face when including sustainability aspects in product development, and the reasons for these challenges. To fulfil this aim, a literature study and a multiple case study were conducted at two international, listed, manufacturing companies in Sweden. Empirical data was collected using semi-structured interviews with two employees at each company and by analyzing the companies’ latest sustainability report. Empirical results include two context-dependent descriptions of how manufacturing companies include sustainability aspects in product development, 21 challenges the companies face, and 14 reasons for those challenges. Conclusions include: (1) the role of conventional methods when including sustainability aspects in product development has been largely ignored in prior research; (2) a company’s product owner influences the inclusion of sustainability aspects in product development, and in product requirements in particular; (3) the following three challenges are proposed incorporated in a comprehensive framework of challenges that has been developed in prior research: Making suppliers fulfil the sustainability requirements that are placed on them. Transforming sustainability aspects, or general goals, into measurable requirements that contribute to reduced environmental impact from products while at the same time contributing to competitive profit.Identifying how to reach economic goals more efficiently with a more sustainable initiative or solution than other initiatives.

This book addresses the implications of the Industry 4.0 paradigm in design for the environment. We examine the opportunities for, and challenges of, the implications of cyber-physical systems, big data analytics, Internet of things, additive manufacturing, and simulation in a range of areas in an eco-design context. These include selecting low impact materials, choosing manufacturing processes with environmental considerations, end of life strategies, applying design approaches for disassembly, integrating economic and social components into environmental studies, and stakeholder’s involvement. This volume takes a step toward this journey to explore how the three pillars of technology, sustainability, and evolving consumers could shape the future of the product’s design.

This book presents the role of life cycle engineering and life cycle management of products and services and their contributions to corporate environmental sustainability and the circular economy. It addresses the main techniques, tools, systems and practices for improving the environmental performance of business products and services throughout their life cycles. The book covers the main topics and concepts related to life cycle engineering and life cycle management applied to the business context. It presents the themes through basic and in-depth theories. In addition, all chapters provide examples of real and hypothetical case studies for discussion and assimilation of theoretical content and its contextualization in the real and practical business scenario. The chapters are complemented by quantitative exercises.