Using eco-design tools: An overview of experts' practices

Flore Vallet (1) , Benoît Eynard (1) , Dominique Millet (2) , Stéphanie Mahut (1) , Benjamin Tyl (3) , Gwenola Bertoluci (4)

1 Roberval - Roberval
2 SUPMéCA TOULON - Institut Supérieur de Mécanique de Paris - SUPMECA Toulon
3 APESA Innovation
4 LGI - Laboratoire Génie Industriel - EA 2606

The practice of eco-design requires relating traditional design criteria to new environmental criteria. So far, few studies have investigated the nature and singularities of eco-design. This article provides some elements of response based upon the redesign of a consumer product (disposable razor). The study was conducted by three groups of experienced eco-designers using existing eco-design tools (SIMAPRO, ECOFAIRE, ECODESIGN PILOT). A protocol analysis with a three-level coding of transactions was carried out for this purpose. Two main findings are reported: (1) environmental assessment, solution finding and strategy definition are the activities which differentiate eco-design from design; (2) environmental initial assessment and strategy definition are more heavily influenced by eco-designers' expertise than support from tools

Mots clés: product design; design team; ecodesign; protocol analysis

Domaines: Sciences de l'environnement; Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]

Flore Vallet, Benoît Eynard, Dominique Millet, Stéphanie Mahut, Benjamin Tyl, et al.. Using eco-design tools: An overview of experts' practices. Design Studies, 2013, ⟨10.1016/j.destud.2012.10.001⟩. ⟨hal-01251846⟩