Abstract
Structured approaches to diminishing products’ environmental footprint include the identification of hotspots, e.g., lifecycle phases or aspects that feature criticalities in terms of environmental sustainability. Still in these approaches, measures are taken consistently by investing eco-design efforts to improve the situation in the identified hotspots. However, many products implement eco-design principles irrespective of hotspots, i.e., without taking into account the major sources of environmental footprint. A sample of products has been analyzed in terms of hotspots, and lifecycle stages are affected by the implementation of eco-design principles and achieved success. The study reveals that, while eco-design principles in the use phase of the product favor success, the consistency between the hotspot and the lifecycle stage does not modulate the relationship between implemented eco-design principles and success. As a result, while the identification of hotspots is a best practice as for the attempt to maximize environmental benefits brought on by eco-design initiatives, it plays a limited role in terms of customer’s acceptability and appreciation of new products.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Collado-Ruiz, D., Ostad-Ahmad-Ghorabi, H.: Estimating environmental behavior without performing a life cycle assessment. J. Ind. Ecol. 17(1), 31–42 (2013)
Bertoni, M., Hallstedt, S., Isaksson, O.: A model-based approach for sustainability and value assessment in the aerospace value chain. Adv. Mech. Eng. 7(6), 1687814015590215 (2015)
Resta, B., Gaiardelli, P., Pinto, R., Dotti, S.: Enhancing environmental management in the textile sector: an organisational-life cycle assessment approach. J. Cleaner Prod. 135, 620–632 (2016)
Hernandez, M., Messagie, M., Hegazy, O., Marengo, L., Winter, O., Van Mierlo, J.: Environmental impact of traction electric motors for electric vehicles applications. Int. J. Life Cycle Assess. 22(1), 54–65 (2017)
Ardente, F., Mathieux, F.: Identification and assessment of product’s measures to improve resource efficiency: the case-study of an Energy using Product. J. Cleaner Prod. 83, 126–141 (2014)
Sarkar, P.: Reduction of environmental impact of products through hotspot analysis in LCA. In: International Conference on Research into Design 2017, pp. 153–163. Springer, Singapore (2017)
Sousa-Zomer, T.T., Cauchick-Miguel, P.A.: Proposal of a hotspot-based approach to identifying social impacts along the product-service systems life cycle in the early design phases. Procedia CIRP 64, 85–90 (2017)
Brundage, M.P., Bernstein, W.Z., Hoffenson, S., Chang, Q., Nishi, H., Kliks, T., Morris, K.C.: Analyzing environmental sustainability methods for use earlier in the product lifecycle. J. Cleaner Prod. 187, 877–892 (2018)
Russo, D., Schöfer, M., Bersano, G.: Supporting ECO-innovation in SMEs by TRIZ Eco-guidelines. Procedia Eng. 131, 831–839 (2015)
Buchert, T., Halstenberg, F.A., Bonvoisin, J., Lindow, K., Stark, R.: Target-driven selection and scheduling of methods for sustainable product development. J. Cleaner Prod. 161, 403–421 (2017)
Pinheiro, M.A.P., Seles, B.M.R.P., De Camargo Fiorini, P., Jugend, D., de Sousa Jabbour, A.B.L., da Silva, H.M.R., Latan, H.: The role of new product development in underpinning the circular economy: a systematic review and integrative framework. Manage. Decis. (2018)
Muñoz, I., Gazulla, C., Bala, A., Puig, R., Fullana, P.: LCA and ecodesign in the toy industry: case study of a teddy bear incorporating electric and electronic components. Int. J. Life Cycle Assess. 14(1), 64–72 (2009)
González-García, S., Lozano, R.G., Buyo, P., Pascual, R.C., Gabarrell, X., i Pons, J.R., Moreira, M.T., Feijoo, G.: Eco-innovation of a wooden based modular social playground: application of LCA and DfE methodologies. J. Cleaner Prod. 27, 21–31 (2012)
Buckingham, M., Pigosso, D.C.A., Dekoninck, E.A., McAloone, T.C.: Supporting eco-design implementation within small and large companies. In: Proceedings of the DESIGN 2014 13th International Design Conference, pp. 1473–1482. Design Society, Dubrovnik (2014)
Noya, I., Aldea, X., Gasol, C.M., González-García, S., Amores, M.J., Colón, J., Ponsa, S., Roman, I., Rubio, M.A., Casas, E., Moreira, M.T., Boschmonart-Rives, J.: Carbon and water footprint of pork supply chain in Catalonia: From feed to final products. J. Environ. Manage. 171, 133–143 (2016)
Mendoza, J.M.F., D’Aponte, F., Gualtieri, D., Azapagic, A.: Disposable baby diapers: life cycle costs, eco-efficiency and circular economy. J. Cleaner Prod. 211, 455–467 (2019)
Uchil, P., Chakrabarti, A.: Communicating life cycle assessment results to design decision makers: need for an information visualization approach. In: Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED13). Design Society, Seoul (2013)
Gaha, R., Benamara, A., Yannou, B.: Eco-design of a basin mixer in geometric modeling phase. Key Eng. Mater. 572, 7–11 (2014)
Simões, C.L., de Sá, R.F., Ribeiro, C.J., Bernardo, P., Pontes, A.J., Bernardo, C.A.: Environmental and economic performance of a car component: assessing new materials, processes and designs. J. Cleaner Prod. 118, 105–117 (2016)
Wagner, E., Benecke, S., Winzer, J., Nissen, N.F., Lang, K.D.: Evaluation of indicators supporting the sustainable design of electronic systems. Procedia CIRP 40, 469–474 (2016)
Vezzoli, C., Manzini, E.: Design for Environmental Sustainability. Springer, London (2008)
Fiksel, J.: Design for Environment. A Guide to Sustainable Product Development, 2nd edn. McGraw-Hill, New York (2009)
Sempels, C., Hoffmann, J.: Sustainable Innovation Strategy: Creating Value in a World of Finite Resources. Springer (2013)
Russo, D., Rizzi, C., Spreafico, C.: How to build guidelines for eco-improvement. In: International Conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing (KES-SDM2017), pp. 879–887. Springer, Bologna (2017)
Maccioni, L., Borgianni, Y.: A product success scale for supporting research in engineering design. In: Proceedings of the DESIGN 2018 15th International Design Conference, pp. 69–80. Design Society, Dubrovnik (2018)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this paper
Cite this paper
Borgianni, Y., Maccioni, L., Pigosso, D. (2019). Environmental Lifecycle Hotspots and the Implementation of Eco-design Principles: Does Consistency Pay off?. In: Ball, P., Huaccho Huatuco, L., Howlett, R., Setchi, R. (eds) Sustainable Design and Manufacturing 2019. KES-SDM 2019. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 155. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9271-9_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9271-9_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-9270-2
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-9271-9
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)