Design for the Environment

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Design for the Environment (also known as Ecodesign) is about developing products in a way that minimises their environmental impact.

Design for the Environment considers the impacts of a product over that product’s entire life cycle: from raw material extraction to manufacturing, to use and, finally, to its end of life.

Design for the environment

There is a growing demand for cleaner, greener products and a qrowing sophistication among consumers provides the ‘market pull’ for products with lower environmental impacts.

Companies that apply Design for the Environment find that it has a number of business benefits:

The bottom line — Cuts raw material and waste disposal costs

Innovation — Encourages good design and drives innovation.

Customer expectations — Meets user needs/wants by exceeding current expectations for price, performance and quality

Environmental marketing — Many customers now include Design for the Environment issues in tender documentation and a ‘greener’ image can increase market share

Enhanced reputation — Demonstrating good environmental performance can enhance the company’s standing with shareholders, investors and other stakeholders

Improvements in workplace health and safety — Through reduced waste and emissions

Increased staff morale — There is a growing awareness among staff that businesses play an important role in working towards sustainable development. This can provide a strong personal incentive to pursue Design for the Environment

Environmental performance of products — Reduces the environmental impact of products throughout their life cycle

Wilkinson Environmental works with companies to help them implement Design for Environment strategies.

An example of our work in this area is the development of the Plastics New Zealand Design for Environment Guidelines. Download a copy of these Guidelines from the Plastics NZ website.