Eco-design Process Research Articles

Raw Material Stage Assessment of Seating Elements as Urban Furniture and Eco-Model Proposals

As cities strive to become sustainable, it is imperative to consider even the smallest components of the urban environment and prioritize sustainability. Ensuring the sustainability of urban furniture, especially the numerous benches found in cities, is crucial. This study proposes an alternative solution to the sustainability issue in cities regarding urban furniture. This is because a review of the literature indicates that while efforts have been made to evaluate the sustainability of urban amenities and furniture, studies conducting life cycle analysis specifically for urban furniture are lacking. This study will contribute to the identified gap in the literature by analyzing 14 different seating elements in recreational areas located in the city of Rize, Turkey, using the Ccalc program to calculate their carbon footprints. In the subsequent phase of this study, an eco-design process will be conducted based on the findings, aiming to create an eco-seating unit design. Based on the data obtained, materials with high environmental impact were identified, material replacement recommendations were made, and consequently, a model proposal was presented. The potential reduction in carbon footprints with the use of transformed materials was discussed. The findings revealed that carbon footprint values were particularly high in the seating units where concrete and polypropylene materials were used. Additionally, it was determined that solvent paint, especially varnish, affects the carbon footprint, and it was recommended that would be used in its natural form, which is eco-friendly. In conclusion, the recommendations developed for the sustainability of urban furniture in coastal areas will contribute to the future of cities and humanity.

Life cycle assessment of a marine biorefinery producing protein, bioactives and polymeric packaging material

Abstract Purpose Algal research has been dominated by the use of marine biomass (mainly microalgae) as feedstock in the production of second-generation biofuels, albeit with limited economic success. A promising alternative strategy is the valorisation of seaweed (macroalgae), with the cascaded extraction of its high-value components, as well as lower-value components further downstream, under the ‘biorefinery concept’. The goal of this study was to assess the environmental performance of one such marine biorefinery situated in the UK. Methods Attributional life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted on a hypothetical marine biorefinery coproducing fucoidan, laminarin, protein and alginate/cellulose packaging material (target product), from cultivated Saccharina latissima. The functional unit was the production of 1 kg of packaging material. A total of 6 scenarios were modelled, varying in coproduct management methodology (system expansion, mass allocation or economic allocation) and applied energy mix (standard or green energy). Sensitivity analysis was also conducted, evaluating the systems response to changes in allocation methodology; product market value; biomass composition and transport mode and distance. LCA calculations were performed using OpenLCA (version 1.10.3) software, with background processes modelled using the imported Ecoinvent 3.6 database. Environmental impacts were quantified under ReCiPe methodology at the midpoint level, from the ‘Heirarchist’ (H) perspective. Results and discussion The overall global warming impacts ranged from 1.2 to 4.52 kg CO2 eq/kg biopolymer, with the application of economic allocation; 3.58 to 7.06 kg CO2eq/kg with mass allocation and 14.19 to 41.52 kg CO2eq/kg with system expansion — the lower limit representing the instance where green electricity is used and the upper where standard electricity is employed. While implementing the green energy mix resulted in a 67% reduction in global warming impacts, it also incurred a 2–9 fold increase in overall impacts in the categories of terrestrial acidification, human non-carcinogenic toxicity, land-use and terrestrial ecotoxicity. Economic allocation resulted in burden shifting most favourable to the packaging material pathway. Conclusions This study demonstrates that the road to environmental optimisation in marine biorefineries is fraught with trade-offs. From the perspective of LCA — and by extension, the eco-design process that LCA is used to inform — when evaluating such product systems, it serves to strike a balance between performance across a broad spectrum of environmental impact categories, along with having consideration for the nature of energy systems incorporated and LCA methodological elements. Graphical Abstract

From concretes to bioreceptive concretes, influence of concrete properties on the biological colonization of marine artificial structures

A main cause of biodiversity loss is artificialization of the marine environment (IPBES 2019). With 39,400 km2 of coastal and marine areas already encroached upon by human infrastructure and an increasing demand on space due to the growing global population – projected to reach 9 billion by 2050 – it is clear that humanity needs to find ways to prevent its activities from endangering biodiversity. To this end, since the 1990s ecologists have been trying to develop a win-win approach that unites ecological engineering with civil engineering. Today, civil engineers have a responsibility to incorporate eco-design processes in all construction projects underway to ensure that the latter benefit both humans and nature. Then, the new challenge of the 21st century is to develop eco-designed concretes that, in addition to their usual properties, provide improved bioreceptivity in order to enhance marine biodiversity without affecting the structure durability. The aim of this study is to master, clarify and classify the intrinsic parameters that influence the bioreceptivity (biocolonization) of cementitious materials in the marine environment. By using biofilm-culture-method (biofilm quantification), this study shows that the use of rough surface or slag cement CEM III and the surface treatment with green formwork oil enhance the biocolonization of cementitious materials in the marine environment whereas the application of curing agent (hydrophobic surface coating) has the opposite effect. Among the influent parameters, surface roughness proved to be the factor that promotes biocolonization most effectively.

Life Cycle Assessment in an Ecodesign Process: A Pedagogical Case Study

AbstractTo face environmental requirements in the design area, it is crucial to work on the education of younger generation to sustainable design. But literature shows there is a growing need for both teachers and learners to develop pedagogical support to help the integration of sustainable concerns and tools in the education. This article focuses on Life Cycle Assessment in the scope of an ecodesign process. Through a case study, the aim is to illustrate it with firstly a succinct version of the LCA of an electric kettle and then suggestions of ecodesign strategies based on the outcomes of the LCA.

Rheological Considerations in Processing Self-Reinforced Thermoplastic Polymer Nanocomposites: A Review.

The present review relates to the field of nanocomposite materials comprising a thermoplastic nanofibrillar phase dispersed in a matrix that is also thermoplastic. The fact of forming the nanofibrillar phase in situ during melt processing gives it the role of a reinforcing nanofiller for thermoplastic materials. This paper discusses the major factors influencing the formation of self-reinforced nanofibrillar polymer composite (NFC) materials throughout manufacturing steps. More specifically, the rheological considerations allowing the prediction of the in situ nanofibrillation during melt blending and post-processing as well as the methods of production of these polymer nanocomposites are described. The major challenges related to the future development in the field of NFCs are addressed. The concept of self-reinforced nanofibrillar polymer materials shows great potential in lightweight eco-design processes and represents a new approach to polymer nanocomposite recycling for a variety of industrial applications.

Combining circular and LCA indicators for the early design of urban projects

The built environment is a key sector for the transition towards a so-called circular economy, contributing to solve the global environmental challenges humanity is facing. As buildings interact with other sectors like transport and energy, a systemic approach is needed to assess the environmental relevance of circular economy practices. The purpose of this study is to develop and test an approach for the evaluation of overall environmental performance of urban projects. Combining Material Flow Analysis (MFA), the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI), and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) indicators allows for relating means (material recovery) and performance (protection of human health, biodiversity, and resources). This study shows the ability of LCA to evaluate circular economy practices at the scale of an urban project. It also highlights LCA’s limitations and shows that research is needed to improve resource depletion evaluation and biogenic carbon accounting in eco-design LCA tools. Results show that at the project scale, the MCI, one of the major circular indicators in use today, and MFA provide interesting information complementary to LCA but do not successfully evaluate the environmental performance of circular practices. Circularity indicators are complementary to LCA indicators and should not replace them in the eco-design process. Rather than setting circularity targets for a project, it is advisable to set environmental targets so that designers use circularity combined with other means to reach these targets in a systemic way. The choice and implementation of environmentally sound circular actions and strategies are at stake.

Combination of product environmental footprint method and eco-design process according to ISO 14006: The case of an Italian vinery

To support the sustainable development of the primary sector, in line with green new deals emerging worldwide, eco-design of new agri-food products is a priority. The wine industry, due to its growing market, has matured the need to develop an approach for understanding the environmental impacts of its products and to develop strategies to reduce such impacts in a life cycle perspective. This study has a two-fold aim: presenting the development of a methodological proposal for the use of PEF and PEF-CR in the eco-design of wine products; testing its applicability in a case study in the wine sector. The methodological proposal considered the combination of ISO 14006 and PEF methods into a procedure consisting of 8 steps. The proposal was successfully applied in the case of an Italian vinery committed to develop a new red wine product with improved performance if compared to its standard red wine production. The study occurred between 2018 and 2020, collecting primary data related to vineyards and vinery operations. Results proved that PEF method and PEF-CR can be effectively used in the eco-design of new wine products with reduced environmental impacts. Moreover, the study confirmed that PEF method can be used within the framework of ISO 14006. The study on standard red wine production confirmed that the fuel and pesticide consumption in the vineyard operation are environmental hotspots. To reduce these impacts, a new selection of Merlot Khorus grapes was made by the Italian vinery. Results of the eco-designed proved that the new product scored a reduction in the potential environmental impacts.

Eco-design processes in the automotive industry

Abstract Every year approximately 70 million passenger cars are being produced and automotive industry is much bigger then just passenger cars. The impact of automotive industry on the environment is tremendous. From extracting raw materials through manufacturing and assembly processes, exploitation of the vehicle to the reprocessing irreversible, extensive environmental damage is done. The goal of this study is to show how implementing eco-design processes into supply chain management can reduce the impact of automotive industry on the environment by e.g. reducing the use of the fuel, increasing the use of recycled materials. Focus is on evaluation of current state, environmental impacts and potential improvements for design, raw materials, manufacturing and distribution and end-of-life phase.

Effective ecodesign implementation with the support of a lifecycle engineer

In the field of Ecodesign, in which the answers to the questions of “why”, “what”, and “how” have been largely studied in the past, the lack of implementation in industry remains an issue. The literature lacks insights into the “how” question combined with “who” for ecodesign implementation. The aim of this paper is to propose a concept for a knowledge holder, called a lifecycle engineer, with specific knowledge that can support a team or organization in the ecodesign process for its more effective implementation. This is achieved first by a literature review using a set of constructs derived from theories of engineering design and transdisciplinary research. Second, by consulting the results from the literature review and the proposal of a lifecycle engineer, through semi-structured interviews, with practitioners from the manufacturing sector. The analysis of the semi-structured interviews shows that the relevant knowledge includes lifecycle analysis, materials and their selection, energy efficiency, legislation, and management. This knowledge was complemented by skills that practitioners thought of as relevant for effective implementation. Moreover, the proposal of a lifecycle engineer, according to most practitioners, was found to be useful. The advantages of a lifecycle engineer include having more focus on ecodesign and the availability of information and staff to drive changes. Caveats include clear benefits against investment for the company, especially for smaller ones, and enough tasks for full-time employment.

Using LCA in a participatory eco-design approach in agriculture: the example of vineyard management

The paper shows how three tools based on life cycle assessment (LCA) were created for an eco-design approach in viticulture, how these tools contributed to the reduction of environmental impacts of technical management routes (TMR), and how they have been used in real-life conditions during workshops organized with two different groups of winegrowers and extension officers in this purpose. This paper is among the first to explore the use of LCA in participatory approaches in agriculture. The eco-design approach contains two main phases: (i) suggestion of more eco-efficient solutions by the participants based on their understanding of LCA results of a TMR and (ii) eco-design of the TMR based on initial operations from the case study and alternative operations generated during the previous phase. Three challenges have been identified to use LCA in this approach: (i) making LCA results understandable for participants, (ii) enabling easy manipulation of LCI data and modularity of LCA results, and (iii) need for live LCA results during the collective design process. Three tools have been created to fulfil these objectives: (i) a specific format to display LCA results during workshops, (ii) a “serious game” to build new TMRs, and (iii) a simplified calculation tool to evaluate TMRs. Four out of the five case studies explored with these tools were actually improved at the end of the participatory eco-design approach. The specific format used to display LCA results helped identifying the most impactful operations within initial TMRs. The “serious game” stimulated discussions between participants about alternative operations. Representing unit operations with cards was successful to engage participants in the eco-design process. Finally, eco-design parameters available in the “live” LCA tool allowed participants to improve consistency of unit operations with reality and to discuss how to optimize these parameters in order to both reduce environmental impacts and meet the (agronomic, economic, and organizational) requirements of winegrowers. Several limits concerning the use of weighting and single score and the system boundaries are highlighted. The created tools made it possible to guide discussions towards improving the most impactful practices while allowing other practice changes to be integrated. The proposed approach and the challenges identified for the creation of the tools seem relevant for transposition to other agricultural production sectors. However, while the annual and plot/field scale is interesting for engaging farmers in the production process, larger temporal and geographic scales can help to better integrate certain decision criteria.

Guideline for green design of commercial refrigerating appliances

.This paper investigates the overseas and domestic backgrounds for green design of commercial refrigerating appliances, and regulates the purposes and basic principles of eco-design of commercial refrigerating appliances, the eco-design requirements, eco-design process and key points, major methods of eco-design, and eco-design evaluation and improvement. This paper provides the guiding targets for the commercial refrigerating appliances manufacturer, standardizes the enterprise behavior of commercial refrigerating appliances, and leads the commercial refrigerating appliances enterprise to implement the product green design, which is of great significance in promoting the transformation and upgrading of commercial refrigerating appliances, enhancing the green manufacturing level and increasing the green product supply.

Semi-quantitative method for task planning in product eco-design

Ensuring the environmental sustainability of products is challenging because it involves all the stages and processes throughout product life cycle. Product eco-design is essential to achieve it. In the proposed methodology, product eco-design is implemented based on five eco-design elements, namely, function, material, geometric structure, connection relationship and manufacturing process. However, because of the fragmentation of existing eco-design tools, the gap between eco-design evaluation and eco-design optimisation requires a new mechanism to seamlessly integrate them for efficient industrial applications. A new checklist tool called Checklist of Product Eco-design Optimisation Potential (CPEOP) is developed to assess product eco-design optimisation potential. Based on the new tool, optimisation effect of product eco-design can be quantitatively assessed. Furthermore, a novel semi-quantitative method for task planning in product eco-design is proposed, which involves evaluating the product with CPEOP, screening candidates for eco-design and determining the candidates’ optimisation directions. The uncertainties arising from CPEOP and enterprise design status quo are further analysed. Subsequently, a case study on a refrigerator is conducted to elucidate the process of the method and reveal its potential. The proposed method is then discussed through a comparison with two mainstream eco-design tools.

Automatization of the Ecodesign Process of Small Household Appliances based on CAD 3D System

Automatization of the Ecodesign Process of Small Household Appliances based on CAD 3D System

The assessment of eco-design with a comprehensive index incorporating environmental impact and economic profit

Eco-design is an advanced design approach which plays an important part in the national innovation project and serves as a key point for the successful transformation of the supply structure. However, the practical implementation of the pro-environmental designs and technologies always faces a dilemma situation, where some processes can effectively control their emissions to protect the environment at relatively high costs, while others pursue the individual interest in making profit by ignoring the possible adverse environmental impacts. Thus, the assessment on the eco-design process must be carried out based on the comprehensive consideration of the economic and environmental aspects. Presently, the assessment systems in China are unable to fully reflect the new environmental technologies regarding their innovative features or performance. Most of the assessment systems adopt scoring method based on the judgments of the experts, which are easy to use but somewhat subjective. The assessment method presented in this paper includes the environmental impact (EI) assessment based on LCA principal and willingness-to-pay theory, and economic profit (EP) assessment mainly based on market price. The results from the assessment are in the form of EI/EP, which evaluate the targeted process from a combined perspective of environmental and economic performance. A case study was carried out upon the utilization process of coal fly ash, which indicates the proposed method can compare different technical processes in an effective and objective manner, and provide explicit and insightful suggestions for decision making.

Application of Eco-Design and Life Cycle Assessment Standards for Environmental Impact Reduction of an Industrial Product

Eco-design is included within the framework of the standard for “Environmental management systems—Guidelines for incorporating Eco-design” (ISO 14006:2011). Eco-design process, as defined in standard, has six steps: (i) Specify product functions; (ii) Environmental assessment of products; (iii) Strategies of improvement; (iv) Environmental objectives; (v) Product specification; and (vi) Technical solutions. Step (ii), determination of the stage or process of the product life cycle that has the highest environmental impact; this is perhaps the most controversial step because the standard does not specify which tool should be used. This lack of specification has generated some distrust with regard to eco-design, hindering its development. In order to make a trustworthy eco-design, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) should be applied as a tool for environmental impact quantification. The main objective of this work is to apply standardised eco-design methodology for the reduction of the environmental impact of an industrial product in Spain using LCA as a tool for the environmental product assessment. LCA standardised process (ISO 14040,14044:2006) is included in the eco-design process. A glass container intended for cough syrup delivery has been selected as an industrial product to be eco-designed. Following the methodology described, the overall normalised impact decreased 35.1% when a PET container substituted a glass container. Environmental impacts have been reduced following standardised eco-design and LCA methodologies, serving as an example to industry and administration regarding how to eco-design with the confidence of obtaining reliable results.

Quantification of carbon footprint of urban roads via life cycle assessment: Case study of a megacity-Shenzhen, China

As one of the largest energy consumers, the transport sector generated direct and indirect emissions which significantly affect the environment, accounting for approximately one-third of the total carbon emissions. While the major impacts are from transport energy use and emissions, very few studies attempted to examine the impacts from transport infrastructure, especially at a city or country level. This paper, taking Shenzhen in China (a fast developing megacity) as the case study, is specially designed to quantify the carbon footprint of the urban roads by using streamlined life cycle assessment method. For given years (ranged from 2004 to 2013), various activities of urban roads (e.g. newly planned road construction, maintenance of road in use, and road renovation and demolition) have been examined in this study. The results show that the total carbon footprint from urban roads in Shenzhen was 260 (±20) thousand tons CO2e in 2013. The major contributor was the materials use (embodied impact) from newly constructed roads, which accounts for 52.3% of the total carbon footprint, followed by the maintenance stage (24.3%). The eco-design process of road construction plays a vital role in achieving the effective carbon footprint reduction. These findings help to better understand the carbon footprint from urban roads in megacities, and provide useful inputs for policy making process in terms of identifying carbon reduction opportunities for the transport sector. In addition, the methodologies are useful for the quantification of carbon footprint in other cities of China and beyond.

From energy efficiency towards resource efficiency within the Ecodesign Directive

The article examines the integration of resource efficiency into the European Ecodesign Directive. The purpose is to analyse the processes and stakeholder interactions, which formed the basis for integrating resource efficiency requirements into the implementing measure for vacuum cleaners and the voluntary agreement for imaging equipment. Based on the analysis, the following recommendations were made on how to strengthen the focus on resource efficiency in the Ecodesign Directive. It is legally possible within the Ecodesign Directive to set requirements to resource efficiency, but a focus on the most significant environmental impact has often resulted in a focus on energy efficiency in the use phase. Therefore, the Ecodesign Directive should continue to target resource efficiency aspects but also consider environmental aspects with a large improvement potential in addition to the most significant environmental impact. For the introduction of resource efficiency requirements into the Ecodesign Directive, these requirements have to be included in the preparatory study. It is therefore recommended to broaden the scope of the Methodology for the Ecodesign of Energy-related products and the EcoReport tool and to develop the necessary resource efficiency indicators. A continued pressure from the stakeholders is also important, and a recommendation is therefore to continue the open ecodesign process and strengthen stakeholder consultations during the preparatory study. The Directorate-General for Energy and The Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs have the leadership of the main adopted product groups within the Ecodesign Directive. DG Environment is involved in the process and has a shared leadership of the preparatory study on washing machines and dishwashers. The role of DG Environment in the Ecodesign Directive could be strengthen in order to include broader environmental aspects and drive the resource efficiency and circular economy agenda. A final recommendation is to continue to expand the work on developing standards defining test methods and verification procedures on resource efficiency.

A predictive product attribute driven eco-design process using depth-first search

Life cycle assessment (LCA) for new designs is a difficult and time-consuming task. This study creates a predictive eco-design process using depth-first search. The approach uses a multi-attribute function, a similarity threshold, and depth-first search (DFS) to match new designs to previous designs, search the similarity graph, separate designs into groups, and predicts environmental impacts for new designs from previous designs. The product attributes in this study are primarily product modules or product components that have major effects on the environmental impacts. Since there is always some uncertainty when estimating LCA results, the minimum and maximum LCA results from previous designs in each group are used to predict environmental impacts for new designs, as ranges. Case study results show that the method can be used to improve product design, early in the eco-design process. Consequently, the process can be used to reduce design time and reduce design cost.

The true value of materials: BRIDGE (Building Research and Innovation Deals for the Green Economy)

Assessing the value of materials, lifecycle and applications was central to the European Union INTERREG IV project BRIDGE (Building Research and Innovation Deals for the Green Economy) 2011–2014. Here, the complex philosophies of sustainability (protection of people, profit and planet) underpinned innovation, knowledge transfer, data visualization and design thinking, to develop green entrepreneurs, and market differentiation in Southern England and Northern France Channel regions. The model followed transdisciplinary collaborative research methods resulting in ‘green best practice’, which was visualized and disseminated extensively via digital technologies, mixed media and exhibitions. Information generated by the research was debated and shared at cross-channel conferences, business-to-business, incubation events, workshops and research exchange visits focussing on two materials: textiles and wood, sourced in the UK and France. Partners came from universities, regional authorities, non-governmental organisations and business communities to discuss the economic, environmental and societal value of these regional materials and innovative proofs of concept, eco and sustainable design products, processes, services and material experiments were generated from this collaborative peer learning, community of practice approach. More sustainable proof of concept products and systems were developed by knowledgeable practitioners which embody an understanding of green business, where the philosophical rationales and complexity of ethics, climate change and waste issues, for example, were communicated through materials and objects to expert and non-expert audiences and consumers. This embodiment and honest communication of knowledge in a product is a unique selling point, creating market value and consumer differentiation through narrative. Stakeholders exchanged complex data, methods and ideas towards developing green employment opportunities, informing a research theme for UK and EU funders to the year 2020 and beyond. This is a descriptive narrative on the evolvement of the project which enables incisive, reflective and theoretical analysis to take place simultaneously in other publishing areas to assess the longer term impact and value of BRIDGE in subsequent transdisciplinary projects. This work contributes to literature on value and use of materials with a focus on collaboration, design, innovation, applied research and societal benefit to develop green employment.

Local Value Creation and Eco-design: A New Paradigm

De**sign has a great role to play in sustainability. Interesting progresses has been performed within the last decades. Nevertheless, some issues of sustainability, and their impact on design, remains poorly studied. Specifically, when it comes to the field of local value creation, the literature in design is still limited. However, the Local Value Creation (LVC) thinking can be a great insight for designers to develop more eco-innovative concepts, through new product design, new services and new business models. In order to go towards this direction, it is necessary to include new variables that are rarely considered in design processes such as the local workforce, sustainable local resources or the customization of the new product or service for local customers.This paper proposes a better understanding of the relation between eco-design approaches and LVC, and more precisely how current eco-design approaches consider this issue. To do so, a first part introduces the Local Value Creation concept and its challenges for sustainability. Then, a second part focuses on a literature review to understand how the LVC dimension is studied in the eco-design process. This will lead in a third section to concretely characterize how eco-design approaches and tools consider LCV issue.A last section proposes to identify potential contradiction between the LVC and the eco-design concept, in order to draw first outlines of a new eco-design paradigm with a Local Value Creation dimension.