LCA WITHIN DESIGN: NOT A MATTER OF “JUST DOING IT”

Abstract

As Ecodesign becomes more popular, more and more people defend that Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) constitutes an almost necessary step within this process. However, this has provoked some level of skepticism and reluctance from industry, who sees this as a considerable investment in time and budget. But what is the cause of such divergence? LCA was initially introduced in the design workflow with very minor modifications, and does not seem to meet the requirements of designers as-is. Some problems arise in the information input for LCA, in the dynamics and specificity of the process itself and in the way in which results can affect the rest of the design process. This paper outlines some potential problems, as well as candidate solutions to ease Ecodesign, without limiting itself to the burdens of current environmental practice. Some first steps on adapting environmental evaluation to design thinking are presented, as well as an outlook of further research with this target in mind. An expected mid-term outcome is an effective integration of LCA within CAD systems, in parallel with structural or management recommendations as to integration of environmental criteria within the company. Keywords: Ecodesign, Life Cycle Assessment, Information management, Creativity, Design process