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GOOD PRACTICES -
Possible Solutions - Eco-design

Introduction

Eco-design looks at the environmental aspects at all stages of the product development process to design products that make the lowest environmental impact throughout the product life cycle.

Financially this means reduced waste generation and savings on waste disposal costs and take-back obligations of products after disposal. Moreover, eco-design provides information on the environmental aspects of goods and semi-finished products increasingly requested from norms and standards.

Key elements

Integrating environmental issues into the traditional product design process;
Balancing ecological and economic requirements while developing products;
Leading to more improved production and consumption practices;
Designing process helps a company anticipate environment-related social trends.

Further Information

Centre for Design at RMIT University, (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) [http://www.cfd.rmit.edu.au/]. This Academic group focuses on green design and sustainability, with an emphasis on product design, eco-efficiency, product stewardship and Life Cycle Assessment. This web site contains project descriptions on environmental redesign of commercial products and information on other activities.

Centre for Sustainable Design [http://www.cfsd.org.uk/] - This site gives a brief overview of the Centre's activities. It also provides information on the Centre's eco-design booklets, discussion papers, Journal of Sustainable Product Design, and conference information.

O2 Global Network [http://www.o2.org/] - O2 is an international network that provides information on books, sites, events, access to eco-design tools, eco-design experts, reports, cases on sustainable design and discussion groups.

Sustainments [hhttp://www.edf.edu.au/] - This site offers a variety of information on the design approach called "sustainment". There is information on publications, on-going research activities, learning opportunities and discussions as well as a regular newsletter.

Ecodesign – a promising approach to sustainable production and consumption – UNEP publication [http://www.earthprint.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ ProductDisplay?prrfnbr=4183&prmenbr=6996&cgrfnbr=448] - This manual outlines a methodology for companies who are interested in product development. It offers a step-by-step plan and is augmented with modules that each deal with a specific eco-design issue. Worksheets are also included. It has an extensive section on further sources of information, including, literature, experts, centres, and websites.

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Last Update: September 12, 2002