A holistic approach for sustainable product design

Abstract

There is an international imperative to reduce energy consumption and its associated gas emissions. Such reduction can be achieved in the electrical/electronic consumer products sector through the development of sustainable products. However, there is lack of information, knowledge, and integrated design tools for producing such products that embrace real sustainable characteristics. This paper presents a framework that integrates the various aspects of sustainable product design. It incorporates a set of guidelines, methodologies and tools for enabling the development of sustainable products. The proposed integrated tools will help designers at the early stages of design to bring forward sustainable electrical and electronic products and bridge the gap between engineering and ecology. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011.