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Eco Design: De nition,

Examples, Principles
Last modi ed on 12thFebruary 2019

What is eco design? Does eco design follow any speci c regulation? What HOW USEFUL IS IT?

examples of eco designed products and services are there? Let’s nd out.

Go to de nitions

Eco Design – A Simple De nition

Eco design is both a principle and an approach. It consists of integrating
environmental protection criteria over a service or a product’s lifecycle. The main
goal of eco design is to anticipate and minimize negative environmental impacts (of
manufacturing, using and disposing of products). Simultaneously, eco design also
keeps a product’s quality level according to its ideal usage.
The principles of eco design where formally published in 2002 and they can be
found in ISO/TR14062.

Related:
Is Solar Energy Really Green And Sustainable?

The Eco Design Approach

Eco design is part of a global approach called “multi-step” and “multi-criteria”. This
approach supports a product’s entire lifecycle in a circular economy perspective by
saving and recycling at maximum natural resources. It has to do with considering
speci c criteria in different stages: EN |
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Successive stages:

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Raw material extraction and supply
Manufacturing
Product distribution
Consumer use
End of life (recovery and recycling)

Main criteria taken into account:

Consumption of raw materials

Energy consumption
Releases in the natural environment and other pollutions
Climatic impacts
Impacts on biodiversity

Some goals and principles are speci cally about:

Using fewer materials and resources for manufacturing products

Using materials and resources obtained with a minimum environmental
impact
Producing the least waste and pollution possible
Reducing the ecological impacts of distribution
Making reusing and recycling easier by intelligent design that makes
disassembly easy

An eco design approach involves the organization that extracts materials as well as
manufacturing. All the people and structures involved along the rest of a product’s
lifecycle, such as retailers or consumers, are also included. And all the processes
along a product’s value-chain are covered too.

Tools For Eco-Design

eco design example principles
Before implementing an eco-design approach we rst need to nd out rst which
are the most environmentally relevant stages of a product’s lifecycle. Questions like
“are the materials used biodegradable?” or “is the energy used for extraction
renewable?” should be asked. Answering them will allow the identi cation of
measures that need to be taken to effectively reduce the environmental impacts of
the product under analysis.
From a more individual perspective, eco-design can also be used in designing
homes. In this scenario, eco-design is mostly about using renewable building
materials like bamboo or cork, buying second-hand furniture or using recycled ber
carpets. At the same time, eco-design at home also has to do with using energy
ef ciently. In this way, using double pained glass windows for better insulation and
investing in solar panels to generate energy are also usual.

Related:
Ocean Protection: 8 Things You Can Do To Help Protect The Oceans
CO2 Emissions And GHG: Understanding The Basics About Who’s Polluting
and How

Companies Using Eco-design As A CSR

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Eco-design is also an integral part of a company’s CSR strategy (Corporate Social

Responsibility, see the de nition of CSR ). In order to reduce their impact on the
environment, many companies are implementing eco-design approaches to offer
greener products. Eco-design is also associated with biomimicry practices – a great
design philosophy that is inspired by imitating nature.

Examples Of Eco-Design
Example Of Eco Design #1:
Malongo Ek’Oh Espresso Machine (2013 EcoProduct Award for Sustainable
Development ): programmed anti-obsolescence design, modular, easy to repair,
solid materials, European manufacturing, economical in electricity
consumption, recyclable (75%) … Associated with coffee from fair trade, these
machines offer services that are equivalent, or even superior, to those of
competition
Example Of Eco Design #2:
CAMIF Conso’ localization service: the consumer can choose online the
equipment item of his/her house (furniture, bedding …) according to the
proximity of the place of production to his/her home. This allows the decrease of
CO2 emissions at the delivery stage and is a good example of an aspect of the
eco-design approach implemented by the manufacturer
Example Of Eco Design #3:
Adidas-Parley shoes and clothes were born out of a partnership between the
sports company and the eco-awareness organization. They came up with a
design-conscious solution to ght the plastic pollution problem and its impacts
on the marine environment
Example Of Eco Design #4:
IKEA’s Kungsbacka kitchen is also made from recycled plastic bottles and
wood
Example Of Eco Design #5:
Some of Lego’s elements (the famous bricks) are now made of plant-based
plastics. They’re 98% polyethylene, made from sugar cane
Example Of Eco Design #6:
 Nestlé recently announced it will sell Haagen-Dazs ice-cream in reusable,
double-walled steel packaging
Example Of Eco Design #7:
LED bulbs don’t have mercury and use signi cantly less energy compared to
CFL bulbs. Yet, they also have some downsides
Example Of Eco Design #8:
Patagonia’s (sportswear) organic cotton is also an example of how cotton
can be grown wasting less water and not harming the environment with
polluting chemicals
Example Of Eco Design #9:
Toothbrushes made out of bamboo are biodegradable and made from a tree
that grows at an incredibly fast speed
Example Of Eco Design #10:
Sustainable cellphone cases made from recycled plastic or wood

Eco-design: Regulation
When it comes to the connection between eco-design and energy ef ciency,
the European Directive 2009/125/CE established a framework for the setting of
ecodesign requirements for energy-related products. Among other considerations,
it speaks about the minimum performance levels to place products on theOrganisationspro
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(in particular, household appliances). Nonetheless, there’ll a new regulation entering
into force in April 2021 with policies
Health more favorable to improve eco-design in the
& Well-
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In addition, a product presented as eco designed must be accompanied by the

opportunity consumers to get accurate information on the elements that allow it to
be considered eco-designed, such as:

A de nition of eco-design in accordance with ISO / TR 14062 or Directive

2009/125 / EC
The details of what is eco-designed (product, component, packaging …) if this is
not the case for all of the articles sold (packaging included)
The main environmental characteristics of the product or packaging
Qualitative and quantitative information on environmental impact reductions
achieved due to the eco-design process

Related content:
How Sustainable Are Avocados, Really?
5 Must-Do’s For Companies Wanting To Lead And Innovate?

Image credits to eco design on Shutterstock, eco design examples on Shutterstock,

bamboo toothbrush on Shutterstock

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