Defining the challenges for ecodesign implementation in companies: Development and consolidation of a framework

Abstract

This study addresses the problem of the slow take-up of ecodesign in industry by identifying and categorising the implementation challenges faced by practitioners. Case studies from nine manufacturing companies from five different countries are reported based on interviews with key ecodesign personnel. A literature-derived framework is used to analyse each case, allowing for robust cross-case analysis. Challenges are identified in five areas: strategy, tools, collaboration, management and knowledge. The management category of challenges is the most frequently mentioned by the companies sampled. The tools category is not as prominent as might have been expected given the on-going focus on tool development within this field. The main contributions of the study are the updating of the main challenges for ecodesign implementation faced by industry, and the development of a rich framework of challenges, including new challenges not previously mentioned in the literature. It is suggested that the framework can be used (and evolved) by other ecodesign researchers when developing surveys or questions for indepth case study interviews as this will facilitate more robust comparisons between studies and support the development of a more consolidated body of knowledge in this field.

Uncovering ecodesign dilemmas: A path to business model innovation

“…Ecodesign is a collaborative, proactive and systematic design and management process that considers the full life-cycle environmental impacts of packaging, products, processes, services, organisations and systems (Sherwin & Evans, 2000;O'Rafferty & O'Connor, 2010, Pigosso et al, 2013Dekoninck et al, 2016). It is a product life-cycle management approach to mitigate uncoordinated product planning, for example, eliminating a toxic substance should not lead to higher energy consumption, which on balance could have a negative impact on the environment (European Commission, 2012).…”

“…Implementation of such principles are essential if industry is to become more sustainable in the long-term. Yet, it is broadly accepted that many companies still fall short of integrating ecodesign in day-to-day design practices (Pigosso et al, 2013;Bonou et al, 2016;Dekoninck et al, 2016).…”

Early stages of designing resource-efficient offerings : An initial view of their analysis and evaluation

“…Publications regarding ecodesign have ranged from success factors (Johansson, 2002) to tools used in practice (Knight & Jenkins, 2009) to challenges in implementation (Dekoninck et al, 2016). Rousseaux et al (2017) suggest that there is still a low uptake of such tools and methods.…”

Adoção do ecodesign em empresas inovadoras no Brasil: levantamento e análise dos principais estímulos

“…Florianópolis, SC, v.17, n. 2, p. 692-710, 2017.ambientais em atividades de projeto do produto JABBOUR, 2013;PIGOSSO et al, 2013), a adoção do ecodesign é elemento fundamental para empresas que desenvolvem produtos e que busquem melhores níveis de desempenho em sustentabilidade ambiental (MAGNAGO et al, 2012;DEKONINCK et al, 2016). Embora o termo ecodesign seja amplamente difundido e fundamentado pela ISO 14006-2011(STANDARD, ISO 14006:2011, termos similares ainda são usados, como design for environment, green product development, eco-innovation ou environmentally conscious design (BAUMANN et al, 2002;FIKSEL, 1996;LUIZ et al, 2016).…”

“…Dentre essas práticas destaca-se o ecodesign (VARANDAS JUNIOR, 2014;DEKONINCK et al, 2016). De maneira geral, o ecodesign pode ser definido como uma abordagem na qual os objetivos ambientais são avaliados em conjunto e de maneira integrada aos objetivos do projeto do produto (FIKSEL, 1996).…”