Ecodesign Practices Research Articles

Ecodesign Practices in a Furniture Industrial Cluster of Southern Brazil: From Incipient Practices to Improvement

Eco-design practices are still incipient in Brazilian furniture industries, although some improvement can be identified in recent years. This paper describes the performance of an industrial furniture cluster located in Southern Brazil regarding such practices. An embedded case study involving four companies — two manufacturers and two suppliers — was carried out using in-depth interviews. It enabled to depict particularities of how these companies deal with sustainable aspects of design in their respective business. Critical issues identified as obstacles for eco-design implementation in these industries were: control of both, productive process and product durability; product distribution; rational use of space for transportation and storage. Minor difficulties were identified regarding the lack of renewable energy sources and the scarcity of knowledge dissemination. Such hurdles could provide opportunities and support future eco-design strategy implementation, improving the competitiveness and contributing for the eco-efficiency of the Brazilian furniture industry.

The ecodesign practice in Serbian printing industry

The article presents a description, analysis and application of the concept of life-cycle analysis on a sample of 35 offset printing companies in Novi Sad (Republic of Serbia) as representative printing technique. The research method implies the creation of modified eco-design checklist based on the ecodesign strategies, which covers all stages of the printed products life cycle, with emphasis on the offset printing. The method of awarding of “smiley” in checklist should encourage the selection of environmentally acceptable alternatives during the production stages. The results indicated that most of the printing companies consider ecodesign concept as an important step of their future environmental improvement. The scientific importance of this research is reflected through the evaluation of the current ecodesign practices. Further, the application of ecodesign checklist in the work of printing is imposed as a necessity for Republic of Serbia in adapting to the international environmental trends and standards.

Eco-design practices with a focus on quantitative environmental targets: An exploratory content analysis within ICT sector

Circular economy ambitions demand considering lifecycle of products within product development. From the perspective of the circular economy, environmental considerations should, for example, increasingly entail product's use phase not only to increase product's energy-efficiency, but also to prolong the time in use. This paper investigates how these considerations are addressed within information and communications technology (ICT) sector. Drawing from previous research in constructing the hypotheses, it is examined how companies report about their quantitative environmental targets for products, and what topical areas are in focus for their environmentally conscious practices related to products' reuse. Then, relationships with these published quantitative targets and environmental performance are assessed. Content analysis method is used to derive data from 43 sustainability reports. Our results suggest that being mature enough to publish quantitative environmental targets for products is positively associated with lifecycle thinking, considering the durability of products, and remanufacture. This exploratory study reveals among others, that although published, quantitative environmental targets for products are not yet dominantly present; they are positively associated with environmental performance measures. This includes capability to report quantitatively on flows of reclaimed products, and positions in external ranking. But, we also highlight the need for more discussion around reuse alternatives that are not commonly published among companies in this sample. The paper concludes by discussing the applicability of this research method.

Maintenance decision support for sustainable performance: problems and research directions at the crossroads of health management and eco-design

Abstract: Despite companies progressively taking sustainable performance into account through various governmental incentives and policies, most still have their own strategic, tactical or operational targets based essentially on economic criteria (turnover, productivity, inventory valuation...). Since the 2000s, the scientific community has been more particularly interested in sustainable operations management, but little research addresses the three dimensions together: economic, social and environmental. Although product and production system maintenance has a significant impact on economic, environmental and social performance, and therefore sustainability, it is no exception. In this paper, we investigate research in the field of maintenance decision support to highlight the gaps we consider to be among the causes of the partial control of sustainable performance in this domain. We then show that some solutions could take inspiration from prognostic and health management, as well as eco-design practices. This investigation led us to establish lines of research for the control of sustainable performance in maintenance.

Linking Use Stage Life Cycle Inventories with Product Design Models of Usage

Usage can have a significant environmental impact on the product life cycle. A precise evaluation and understanding of this impact during design is crucial to support early and adapted feedbacks to design experts to encourage the eco-design practice. Information on usage is spread across different field of expertise, and involves explicit and tacit knowledge. This research aims at improving the link between the available usage information, and the environmental expert's explicit knowledge on usage. A five steps method is proposed and exemplified in this paper to formalize this link. The paper finally raises the question of how to deal with conflicting usage information during design in industry.

Industry attitudes towards ecodesign standards for improved resource efficiency

Current European regulations on producer responsibility provide limited incentives for ecodesign practices among manufacturers. Additional incentives for ‘design for resource efficiency’ and ‘design for recycling’ could be provided through mandatory design standards set under the Ecodesign Directive. While European manufacturers have become increasingly positive towards eco-design standards for energy efficiency, there is limited research on their attitudes towards standards related to resources and recycling. This contribution reviews current developments in European product policy and potential future ecodesign standards. Then the results of an interview study with people in Nordic industries are presented. The study is the first comprehensive interview study with industry related to new eco-design requirements to generate recycling and resource efficiency. Most interviewees were positive towards eco-design rules that improve product durability and enable more recycling, but less favorable towards requirements on recycled content, longer consumer guarantees, and requirements on ‘maximum disassembly time’. It appears as if manufacturers are especially negative towards requirements that are not possible to control through internal procedures but have supply chain implications, or where compliance is affected by consumer behavior. The study provides an insight into relevant concerns of industries, but policymakers need to be aware that historically manufacturers have always been concerned about new types of legal requirements as they create uncertainty in the market. As actors become more used to work with the new eco-design requirements, this uncertainty will decrease.

An Analysis of the Perception and Use of Ecodesign Practices by Companies

This article investigates aspects related to the adoption of ecodesign practices by companies. It is descriptive in nature, based on a quantitative survey. We considered 10 indicators of ecological design principles and ecodesign practices, obtained from a review of the relevant literature, and administered a questionnaire to 340 respondents on the set of indicators investigated. We conclude that in addition to meeting legal requirements, the adoption of ecodesign practices benefits the environment and society as a whole. It also enhances firms’ social image by publicizing their concern for environmental preservation and reduces the use of materials and consumption of energy.

Inclusion of territorial resources in the product development process

Facing globalization, territorial competitiveness is considered by (French) public policy makers as promising both economic and social value creation locally. Companies consider territorial specificities when selecting a location (e.g. low production costs, highly qualified labor pool) in a utilitarian perspective. This research proposes encouraging companies to consider territory as a value creation network where exploitable resources flow. The proposal presented in this paper is to integrate these latent territorial resources into the product development process to create value for both the company and its territory in a sustainable perspective. The literature review highlights that current eco design practices have great impact on territories, but that this dimension is not considered in terms of resources. Moreover, current assessment practices are not adapted to overall performance evaluation and need revision to meet the system innovation goal. After clarifying the concept of territory, two industrial cases are provided to analyze how territorial resources were included in the design process and how it improved the overall performance of the company-territory system. From the success factors emerging from literature and cases, a method to release the potential of territorial resources is presented. A revised strategic process dedicated to senior management is proposed as the enabler of system innovation with the intention of improving the design of sustainable products. This paper concludes with the necessary cultural evolution that every stakeholder in the value network must undergo to promote territorial values in a sustainable perspective. This study contributes to the emerging discipline of design for local value creation.

FESTivE: an information system method to improve product designers and environmental experts information exchanges

Effective collaboration between product designers and environmental experts is an important driver for the ecodesign practice in industry. This paper investigates the principal functions required for such an effective collaboration and aims at facilitating them. Product designers should be able to integrate the environmental parameters into their activities, and to exchange information dynamically with the environmental expert whenever needed during the design process. Therefore, the IT system should be in itself dynamic and flexible to the integration of new concepts (knowledge, software). Recent developments in Model Driven Engineering (MDE) are showing some interesting results to gain flexibility and dynamism in the IT system. Combining software interoperability using model federation based on MDE with the specificity of ecodesign practice in industry this paper proposes the FESTivE method for Federate EcodeSign Tool modEls. Experimented in two different industrial contexts the practical feasibility of FESTivE has been validated with practitioners. Results on the effects of using FESTivE in industry shows that product designers and environmental experts are more equipped to anticipate and to respond to each other's needs at each stage of the design process of product or service.

Uma análise preliminar das contribuições da modularidade em produto ao ecodesign

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo fazer uma análise preliminar da literatura acerca das contribuições geradas pela modularidade em produto aos princípios que orientam o ecodesign. O estudo considerou o fato de a modularidade ser uma crescente estratégia de desenvolvimento de produtos nas organizações, trazendo benefícios e contribuições diversas. O trabalho teve a abordagem teórico-conceitual como método de pesquisa, que se iniciou com uma busca estruturada por artigos relacionados aos dois assuntos (modularidade e ecodesign), seguida de uma busca não estruturada, ambas considerando as expressões-chave relativas aos temas. Foi encontrado um número limitado de publicações abordando os dois temas, no entanto, pode-se evidenciar que a modularidade em produto traz potenciais benefícios ambientais no desenvolvimento e consumo de produtos, especialmente com produtos multifuncionais e com facilidade de reutilização de módulos, desmontagem e descarte pós-uso. Conclui-se assim que a modularidade em produto pode gerar contribuições e benefícios relevantes aos princípios e práticas do ecodesign, sendo necessárias pesquisas empíricas para posterior comparação com a literatura.

Proposal of an Eco-design Framework based on a Design Education Perspective

In order to overspread a successful sustainable design of products and services, it is necessary to educate engineering designers at university and along life. Although literature already provides eco-design processes, frameworks, methods and tools, it does not seem to take into consideration the need for a progressive education to eco-design practice. This research proposes a framework based on six fundamental dimensions fractioned into multiple levels: Choice and management of criteria; Modeling of life cycles; Management of the eco-design process; Levels of calling into question of products and services; Integration of industrial stakeholders; Integration of civil stakeholders. The eco-design framework is finally illustrated through its usefulness in describing tools and supporting eco-design education trajectories.

Analysing green supply chain management practices in Brazil’s electrical/electronics industry using interpretive structural modelling

Industries need to adopt the environmental management concepts in the traditional supply chain management. The green supply chain management (GSCM) is an established concept to ensure environment-friendly activities in industry. This paper identifies the relationship of driving and dependence that exists between GSCM practices with regard to their adoption within Brazilian electrical/electronic industry with the help of interpretive structural modelling (ISM). From the results, we infer that cooperation with customers for eco-design practice is driving other practices, and this practice acts as a vital role among other practices. Commitment to GSCM from senior managers and cooperation with customers for cleaner production occupy the highest level.

Ecodesign maturity model: a management framework to support ecodesign implementation into manufacturing companies

Abstract Over the last few decades, ecodesign has emerged as a promising approach to integrate environmental concerns into the product development and related processes. Ecodesign aims to minimize environmental impacts throughout the product's life cycle, without compromising other essential criteria such as performance and cost. Despite the potential benefits of ecodesign and the existence of several tools and techniques for product design, the actual application of ecodesign has not reached companies worldwide, mainly due to difficulties in ecodesign implementation and management. This paper introduces the ecodesign maturity model, a framework aimed at supporting the ecodesign implementation process. Based on a diagnosis of the current maturity profile of a company's product development and related processes regarding ecodesign implementation, the model proposes the most suitable ecodesign practices and improvement projects to be applied, by adopting a continuous improvement approach for process improvement. The model is thus intended to support ecodesign managers in their deployment of strategic and tactical roadmaps for ecodesign implementation. The paper discusses the main concept of the model and the results of its application into a large manufacturing company. In addition to the academic benefits related to the systematization of the ecodesign knowledge, the application of the model is shown to provide companies with: a benchmarking of ecodesign practices; an assessment of strengths and weaknesses; and a common language and a shared vision for ecodesign implementation.

Ecodesign in South African firms - how feasible?

Globally, firms are increasingly adopting ecodesign practices in order to design products with lower environmental impact. This paper reports on a study which investigated the adoption of ecodesign practices among a sample of 30 South African electronic design firms, explored through a mixed methods approach. Key findings indicate relatively low awareness of ecodesign practice and very few firms implementing these practices with specific, strategic intent. Outliers demonstrate and have accrued significant benefits. Among the sample, there were also firms that reaped benefits coincidentally through the application of sound engineering principles, suggesting scope for win-win scenarios. Regulations were considered to be the most important motivating factor whereas cost concerns and conflicts with other product requirements were identified as being important hindering factors. Firms reported benefiting in terms of gaining strategic advantage but few are achieving demonstrable cost advantages. This study suggests that there is considerable scope for improvement.

Using eco-design tools: An overview of experts' practices

The practice of eco-design requires relating traditional design criteria to new environmental criteria. So far, few studies have investigated the nature and singularities of eco-design. This article provides some elements of response based upon the redesign of a consumer product (disposable razor). The study was conducted by three groups of experienced eco-designers using existing eco-design tools (SIMAPRO, ECOFAIRE, ECODESIGN PILOT). A protocol analysis with a three-level coding of transactions was carried out for this purpose. Two main findings are reported: (1) environmental assessment, solution finding and strategy definition are the activities which differentiate eco-design from design; (2) environmental initial assessment and strategy definition are more heavily influenced by eco-designers’ expertise than support from tools.

Eco-design practice in the context of a structured design process: an interdisciplinary empirical study of UK manufacturers

Abstract Environmental design (eco-design) has been identified in both academic and policy circles as a point of intervention in the product lifecycle to promote environmental performance. The benefit of eco-design would be enhanced by rooting it firmly within theoretical design principles and establishing ‘sustainability’ as a functional requirement within a regulatory framework. Formulating such an innovative approach requires first understanding current practices of eco-design in industry. This paper, therefore, addresses three questions: 1) To what extent is the design process structured in practice as suggested by design theory? 2) What, if any, environmental issues do designers consider to be relevant to their products? and 3) To what extent are environmental issues incorporated into product design? Targeting primarily large UK based companies, the authors conducted open ended interviews in conjunction with a postal survey of a sample of manufacturing companies incorporating a wide range of industrial sectors. Critically, many designers are not following good design practice, which limits the possibilities for radical environmental innovation. The environmental design behaviour of companies reflects a complex balance of designers' understanding of environmental issues and the extent of the design space, influenced by legal requirements, economic and supply chain constraints. A more effective regulatory strategy informed by good design practice is required to assist companies in achieving an effective implementation of eco-design.

Avaliação da presença de práticas do Design for Environment (DfE) no desenvolvimento de produto de uma empresa da indústria química

Este artigo apresenta a avaliação da presença de práticas do Design for Environment (DfE) ou ecodesign no desenvolvimento de produtos de uma empresa da indústria química. Para atingir o objetivo proposto, o DfE foi desdobrado em sete construtos latentes, que foram ponderados por um método multicriterial. Os construtos foram desdobrados em itens de avaliação, que deram origem a um questionário categórico, empregado para investigar o quanto cada item está presente na empresa. Ao final, foi possível identificar o nível de presença de cada construto e a presença global do DfE na empresa. O resultado foi uma presença de 67% do máximo que se poderia esperar. Também foi possível identificar a importância relativa de cada construto e as lacunas entre a importância e o nível de presença. Os construtos mais importantes foram Características do produto/processo e Resíduos. Este trabalho constribuiu para a identificação de prioridades quando da aplicação do DfE e para o estabelecimento de parâmetros referenciais acerca do desempenho em DfE a serem monitorados a longo prazo.

Contribution to the characterisation of eco-design projects

Lots of eco-designed projects were carried out successfully, and eco-designed products are now on the market. However, it is very difficult for designers and engineers to compare their design projects to those already done and consequently to reuse the knowledge gained. In a more general perspective, a method to take advantage of previous experiences in eco-design is needed. This paper is a contribution to develop a standard for eco-design practices and proposes a framework to characterise both eco-design projects and eco-tools. Forty case studies from the literature were exploited to extract criteria and options to define the framework. The proposed usage-oriented classification of eco-tools, associated with the practical analysis frame of the design projects, was implemented and finally robust enough to characterise 40 projects.

Representation of Ecodesign Practice: International Comparison of Industrial Design Consultancies

Ecodesign offers significant potential to reduce the environmental impacts of products. Whilst some integration of environmental considerations into design occurs in progressive companies when engineering the product, this only represents a small share of the possible design interventions to improve the environmental performance of products. For example, developing new product concepts to fulfill needs in a less environmentally harmful way and considering user related aspects offers a large, currently under-realized potential. This paper identifies industrial design (ID) consultancies as potential agents to tackle this issue on a strategic and operational basis. The extent to which this potential is currently applied was assessed by conducting a content analysis of websites of ID consultancies in Australia, China, and Germany. How ID consultancies represent their ecodesign practice is country-specific. Despite the differences, some ID consultancies in all countries announce and/or show the capability to develop completely new concepts and to influence user related factors to improve environmental performance. This shows their potential to address current shortcomings in ecodesign practice. As ID consultancies embracing that potential still are a minority, further research should be directed to a deeper examination of barriers and stimuli for ID consultancies to take up ecodesign.

Redesign of a component based on ecodesign practices: environmental impact and cost reduction achievements

This paper focuses on ecodesign and its application in the footwear industry aiming to identify how the ecodesign can be applied to the redesign of a shoe component in order to minimize the environmental impact and simultaneously reduce costs of production and assembling. The factors that influence the use of ecodesign, the benefits and the difficulties were also investigated. A longitudinal case study was developed in a company that produces shoe stiffeners. The process of ecodesign implementation and the practices of ecodesign considered during the product redesign were analyzed. A cost reduction of about 10% was observed (in relation to the use of natural fibers and polymers in its composition–31% of biomass and 69% of fossil material). Toxic materials were completely eliminated and a reduction of energy consumption was also noticed (during the injection process). The main contributions of this study are: ecodesign constructs to be further researched the conjoint analysis of technological ability and market potential in a redesign project, and the requirements to gain managerial support for a redesign project.