'Green technologies' are creating a buzz as the next big thing for the investment community, and 'green products' will soon be in the market. Here's an introduction to Green Product Design:
Green product design, also known as design for environment (DfE), design for eco-efficiency or sustainable product design, involves proactively addressing environmental considerations in the earliest stages of the product development process in order to minimize negative environmental impacts throughout the product's life cycle.
Green product design can encompass material selection, resource use, production requirements and planning for the final disposition (recycling, reuse, or disposal) of a product. It is not a stand-alone methodology but one that must be integrated with a company's existing product design so that environmental parameters can be balanced with traditional product attributes such as quality, cost, and functionality.
Green products can be made with fewer materials and can be designed to be more easily upgraded, disassembled, recycled, and reused than their conventional counterparts.
Implementing green product design can provide numerous benefits to a company. Focusing on resource efficiencies can reduce costs and often shorten production time. Because designing green products sometimes requires bringing diverse functional groups to the design table, green product design efforts can also drive product and process innovation.
Companies are increasingly regarding green product design as a comprehensive way to address pollution laws, resource use concerns, and restrictions on hazardous or toxic materials. Green product design can also provide an important tool in helping companies meet Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mandates, such as requirements by the European Union that electronics manufacturers take back and recycle end-of-life products.
Next: A summary of how to implement a green product design and development process at your company.
