Digital Eco-Design and Life Cycle Assessment—Key Elements in a Circular Economy: A Case Study of a Conventional Desk

Abstract

In recent times, there has been an indisputable need to move towards a more sustainable economy, known as a circular economy, which is basically aimed at reducing the consumption of newly extracted raw materials to manufacture products, and thus, reduces waste generation by recycling products beyond their useful life to ultimately close the economic flow of the product. For the economy generated by products to close the circle, it is essential to tackle the problem at the source, that is, the process to achieve the desired product should be conducted by designing the product with environmental criteria (eco-design) and analysing its life cycle from the extraction process to the point when it ends its useful life (LCA). This article presents an ECO + LCA methodology that provides designers with an easy way of visualising the effect of their design decisions on the final environmental impact of the product. This methodology was tested on a case study of a conventional desk, with four alternative scenarios presented and an assessment of their final impact with a cradle-to-grave perspective. The final design obtained reduces the environmental impact by more than 30% and reduces costs by more than 11%.

Green Supply Chain Management Efforts of First-Tier Suppliers on Economic and Business Performances in the Electronics Industry

“…ECO looks at how product design will influence the environment as early as the design stage. The life-cycle methodology comes up with the total environmental impact of a product during the product's life cycle [67].…”

“…Additionally, ECO and CC bring ECP as demonstrated in industrial examples and academic research [85]. The design of products can directly reduce the cost of the materials [67], energy consumption [86], waste treatment [87], and environmental accidents [88], which are the key measures of the economic performance of GSCM. Moreover, the ECO product can only be valued when customers easily identify the advantages of the products, which leads to a sales increase in the products [67].…”

“…The design of products can directly reduce the cost of the materials [67], energy consumption [86], waste treatment [87], and environmental accidents [88], which are the key measures of the economic performance of GSCM. Moreover, the ECO product can only be valued when customers easily identify the advantages of the products, which leads to a sales increase in the products [67]. Integrating the ECO framework for both products and processes brings environmental and economic performances [89].…”

Analytic Network Process-Based Sustainability Life Cycle Assessment of Concrete Bridges in Coastal Regions

“…These three impacts correspond to the endpoint indicators of the ReCiPe life cycle analysis methodology. These three indicators have been widely used in environmental life cycle analyses of products due to the simplicity of their interpretation and ease of integration into decision-making processes [47,48].…”

Literature Review by Scientometric Methods on the Impact of the Circular Economy on Sustainable Industrial Products

“…Camara et al [47] presented an ECO + LCA methodology that provides designers with an easy way to visualize the effect of their design decisions on the final environmental impact. Even a "zero waste" scheme, proposed by Consuelo Nava [48], was found to be a CE goal.…”