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The consideration of sustainability at the design stage requires dealing effectively with products’ functional and environmental impacts (Bereketli and Genevois, 2013; Remery et al., 2012). Functional product impact has previously been evaluated based on affordability, durability, reliability, and the aesthetic perspective. More recently, functional product impact has been evaluated together with eco-design aspects, including global warming / climate change, energy consumption reduction, and conducting end-of- product life cycle activities, such as reusing, recycling, and remanufacturing (Ljungberg, 2007; Yang et al., 2012).

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Several important strategies should be considered when adapting eco-design in product development. The strategies that researchers have highlighted to optimise and redesign sustainable products include:

i. The product should be designed with the minimum amount of material without reducing its functionality. Heavy materials should be replaced by lighter materials, especially for products that will be transported. Materials that have a great impact on the environment should be exchanged for materials with less environmental impact. Recyclable materials should be used to maximise the sustainable use of renewable resources;

ii. Local suppliers should be used to minimise emissions from the transportation sector, and transport based on renewable resources is preferable;

iii. Waste from production processes should be reduced and, if possible, recycled. The usage of energy and other resources during the manufacturing process should be optimised;

iv. The product’s useful life and efficiency during its usage phase should be extended and increased;

v. The product should be designed for remanufacturing so that the newer replacement product can be more efficiently manufactured;

vi. At products’ EOL, they should be easy to disassemble for recycling, remanufacturing, and reuse (Allione et al., 2012; Byggeth et al., 2007; Knight and Jenkins, 2009; Ljungberg, 2007; Luttropp and Lagerstedt, 2006; Russo and Rizzi, 2014).

These strategies have been explored to better incorporate eco-design considerations into product development. Methods developed include the use of

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sustainability indicators to evaluate the impact of product design procedures (Adhitya et al., 2011; Cerdan et al., 2009; Heijungs et al., 2010).

Social sustainability is how communities, societies and individuals live; it is about equity and basic needs. It deals with working conditions, human rights, participation, fair wages and cultural diversity (Rajak and Vinodh 2015). The aim of social sustainability in this study is to enrich both manufacturer and customers in producing a more sustainable product. The factors of social sustainability for the manufacturer are as follows: provide great place to work, ensure a safe, clean, injury-free workplace, and lastly, customer oriented (Dillard et al. 2009). The manufacturer strives to listen and respond to the customers’ needs by clearly communicating mutual expectations, deliver innovative and competitive products and services, and excel at customer satisfaction.

Environmental requirements will arise due to factors which include legislation and social pressure. Both manufacturers and customers will respond to these requirements. The role of the customer is key in democratic societies which operate market economies. Customers and manufacturers also play a role in creating the requirements that governments reflect in their legislation. The customer creates a demand for a product, manufacturers respond by trying to stimulate, encourage and feed the demand. Customers also can “punish” companies by boycotting their products if they disagree with their behaviour. Customers will increase their demand for a more sustainable life style and manufacturers will influence customers’ needs by producing more sustainable products.

Sustainability indicators are an essential ingredient in the process of benchmarking, communication, and decision-making (Heijungs et al., 2010). The National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) in Japan reviewed several sustainable development indicators and developed a database of the types of indicators (NIES 2015). Table 2.1 shows the thirty-one sustainability indicators selected from the NIES database that relate to the development process of products. These indicators are

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categorised into three groups, considering ecological, economic, and social aspects (Inoue et al., 2012). In addition to mass and CO2 emissions, the current research includes further sustainability indicators and issues that have been considered and added to the evaluation of the case studies.

Table 2.1: Sustainability indicators related to the products’ development processes (Inoue et al., 2012)

Strategies have also been formed to support the adoption of ‘eco-materials’ to lower the environmental impact of manufacturing and product usage (Allione et al., 2012; Bovea and Gallardo, 2006; Halada and Yamamoto, 2001). All production processes and products cause some environmental impact. This is assessed using factors such as carbon footprint, water eutrophication, air acidification, and total energy consumed. These impacts need to be assessed so that the product may be designed to be acceptable in the context of product sustainability. Zarandi et al. (2011) have provided guidelines to selecting materials for eco-design products, as shown in Table 2.2. In a fully integrated approach to providing product sustainability, material and resource selection are often the first and most critical points of intervention; the most eco-friendly materials should be considered alongside economic factors (Allione et al., 2012).

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Table 2.2: Material selection for eco-design (Prendeville et al., 2014; Zarandi et al., 2011)

Rejection of toxic and harmful materials Selection of renewable and bio-compatible materials

1. Avoid materials that emit toxic or harmful substances during pre-production 2. Avoid additives that emit toxic or harmful

substances

3. Avoid toxic or harmful surface treatments

4. Avoid materials that emit toxic or hazardous substances during usage 5. Avoid materials that emit toxic or harmful

substances during disposal

6. Avoid toxic substances, but use closed loops when necessary to do so

7. Avoid exhaustive materials

1. Use renewable materials

2. Use residual materials from production processes

3. Use retrieved components from disposed products

4. Use recycled materials, alone or combined with primary materials

5. Use biodegradable materials 6. Use few and unblended materials 7. Use non-hazardous, recyclable materials 8. Use materials with low energy consumption in

extraction and transportation

The maximum benefits of eco-design are achieved by reducing the environmental impact and cost of the whole product lifecycle. Total product energy consumption is a useful environmental consideration, as operating a product with minimum energy consumption reduces the environmental impact and customer costs (Devanathan et al., 2010). These processes can improve the design, increase productivity, and reduce material usage and, ultimately, costs. Eco-design strategies may also allow manufacturers to turn the EOL process such as reusing, remanufacturing and recycling of a product into a profitable activity or business opportunity. They also support improved levels of recyclability and reduced EOL environmental impacts (Nguyen et al., 2005).

This review has identified that current eco-design strategies do not provide the in depth assessments required to improve designs. They lack quantitative information and do not provide direct guidance to product engineers.

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