Abstract:
This research has explored environmentally conscious design in the
electrical/electronics industry sector. In this new and rapidly evolving field, existing
research has not yet sought to understand the causes of success and the problems
experienced when companies have integrated environmental considerations into the
design process.
In the context of advanced practitioners of environmentally conscious design in the
Western European and North American electrical/electronics industry sector, it is
shown that:
- the timing of environmental decisions in the design process is key to
environmentally conscious design;
- the environmental profile of a product is affected the most in the very early stages
of the design process, particularly in the pre-specification stage, where tools for
environmentally conscious design decision-making are lacking;
- an enthusiastic approach, driven by an environmental champion, is key to
environmentally conscious design;
- top management commitment is important for successful environmentally
conscious design;
- there is a common sequence of events that many companies go through when
integrating environmentally conscious design into their product development
processes. This starts with motivation, leading to widening communication and
information flows and finally to whole-life thinking.
These findings emerged from one in-depth study and a transatlantic industry survey,
interviewing twenty four practitioners. A framework of factors affecting
environmentally conscious design was derived from this research and a model of
environmentally conscious design integration developed which describes the
industry's experience of integrating environmental considerations into the design
processes.
