ECO-DESIGN
production without destruction
IMPACTS
For several decades, consumer society has made profitability its credo, producing and consuming more and
always at the lowest price. This tendency translates into overexploited natural resources, the intensification
of air and water pollution, disappearing plant and animal species, and the proliferation of waste. Breaking this
chain means taking urgent action to “produce more with less.” In other words, to satisfy global demand for
goods and services while limiting waste and avoiding excess and pollution. Companies have now adopted this
approach and have taken sustainable development onboard in their strategies. It has become a political issue
too. In 2000 in Malmö (Sweden), world governments launched an appeal in favour of sustainable production and
consumption, “to improve finished products and services while diminishing impacts on the environment and
health.” In a word, to herald the era of eco-design.
ECO-DESIGN
An international concept, developed by the
World Business Council for Sustainable Deve-
lopment (WBCSD) at the Rio summit, eco-
design is the culmination of a holistic, cons-
cious and proactive approach. It consists in
designing a product -or service- so as to mini-
mize its impacts on the environment. Eco-
design applies at every stage in a product’s
life: raw material extraction, production,
packaging, distribution, use, recovery, recy-
cling, incineration, etc.
www.wbcsd.ch
www.ecodesign.at/information/einfuehrung/
index.en.html
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/eco_
design
www.uneptie.org/pc/sustain/design/design.htm
All consumer goods, even "green" ones, have negative
repercussions on the environment. They are manufactu-
red using raw materials, energy and water. Then they must
be packaged and transported to their place of use, before
finishing up as waste. Eco-design is a means of minimizing
these impacts throughout a product’s lifecycle for the same
degree of efficiency and utility.
www.howproductsimpact.net
SOME OF THE WAY