Circularity Evaluation of Alternative Concepts During Early Product Design and Development

Julie Kamp Albæk,Sasha Shahbazi,Daniela C A Pigosso,Tim C Mcaloone

doi:10.3390/su12229353

Abstract

Product design and development are essential for a circular transition. Circularity decisions, such as those concerning the type of material, assembly method, and expected lifespan, made during the early design stages will significantly influence a product’s quality, cost, esthetics, sustainability, and circularity performance over the product lifecycle. However, circularity is not often considered in the early stages of product design and development. This paper presents the development of the concept circularity evaluation tool (CCET), which aims to support the evaluation of alternative product concepts in terms of their circularity potential in the early stages of product design and development. The CCET was iteratively developed based on an extensive literature review of the success criteria for tool development, guidelines, and existing tools for circular product design and development and strong collaboration with manufacturing companies. The tool was tested and verified at four manufacturing companies in Nordic countries. The tool has been proven useful for evaluating the circularity of products and supportive in the decision-making process in the early stages of product design and development.

Highlights

In recent years, environmental issues such as global warming, environmental pollution, and plastic in oceans have raised the awareness that the “take, make, dispose” linear economy cannot continue indefinitely
Circular design is an important aspect of a circular transition [2,3,4,5], as the choices made during the product design greatly define the impacts of the product during its lifetime
Literature selection was based on a keyword search, abstract review, and full-text reading of articles addressing product design and development and the circular economy

Summary

Introduction

Environmental issues such as global warming, environmental pollution, and plastic in oceans have raised the awareness that the “take, make, dispose” linear economy cannot continue indefinitely. Many companies have recently attempted to create more circular business models and supply chains to be able to close the loop. These attempts cannot be optimum if products are not designed for circular goals. Circular product design and development aims to decouple value creation from the consumption of finite resources by enabling multiple lifecycles in which products, components and materials have extended lifespans [1,6]. Is the use of natural resources economically optimized, but the value of products, components, and materials is retained, and natural resources are restored

Methods

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Discussion

Conclusion